


Yellowwood

by Bitter_Sweet



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Bipolar Disorder, Changing Perspectives, Comfort, Established Relationship, Fairy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Ghosts, Horror, Hurt, Kissing, Lots of kissing, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Manic Depressive Disorder, Memories, Memory Loss, Mental Disorders, October, One Shot, Pain, Paranormal, Slow Burn, Supernatural - Freeform, Tears, Vampires, Werewolf, Witch - Freeform, but its at the beginning, but they were dealt with in a healthy way, changlix, kind of, minsung - Freeform, moderate angst, paranormal town, seungjin - Freeform, supernatural town, woochan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:34:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21751552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitter_Sweet/pseuds/Bitter_Sweet
Summary: Most towns were known for their school, their sports team, a restaurant, something positive, but not Yellowwood. No, Yellowwood was known for its superstitions and its insane asylum. At the edge of the town, atop a hill, sat the Yellowwood Psychiatric Ward. The building was massive and well maintained, a large yellowwood tree standing before the entrance. When Felix was younger, he used to think the sight was almost beautiful. As it was, he hadn’t seen the outside of the building on almost a year.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Woojin, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 162





	Yellowwood

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this in October because that month really inspires me to write, but boy did it take me a long time to finish this. I was inspired by a lot while writing this. When I started this I had just finished reading Dracula and it had me wanting to write about vampires and asylums. Sorry for making something so spooky in December lol. It ended up creepier than I intended, but that I pretty common when I write. 
> 
> I have a giant playlist for this, but I'll share a a few songs that really carried me when writing.  
> All three are by Cavetown:  
> Devil Town  
> Talk to Me  
> This is Home
> 
> Also, it's been a hot minute since Woojin departed from this group, and that’s pretty sad. I started writing this before he left so he is still in this, but Stray Kids is eight from here on out. I hope he is happy in whatever he chooses to do now and I will never forget him.

_*Felix*_

Most towns were known for their school, their sports team, a restaurant, something positive, but not Yellowwood. No, Yellowwood was known for its superstitions and its insane asylum. At the edge of the town, atop a hill, sat the Yellowwood Psychiatric Ward. The building was massive and well maintained, a large yellowwood tree standing before the entrance. When Felix was younger, he used to think the sight was almost beautiful. As it was, he hadn’t seen the outside of the building on almost a year. 

Felix had checked himself into the hospital when his panic attacks became too much for him to handle alone. Fresh out of high school, he had moved into his own place, ready to begin his adult life. However, the town had different plans for him. Another thing that made Yellowwood different from other towns was just how many people ended up in their asylum. The ward was large enough to hold half of their town and for good reason. People in this town seemed to develop mental disorders or simply spiral into insanity much more than anywhere else. The chances of Felix ending up here were high to begin with. 

Some people blamed the high mental illness ratio on something supernatural, as the town seemed fond of doing, but Felix didn’t know what to think. He had grown up hearing stories of werewolves, vampires, and fairies, but he had no idea how even they could be the cause of this. Just as it was with most patients admitted into the psychiatric hospital, Felix’s disorder had sprung up on him out of nowhere. For most of his life, he was perfectly healthy. 

Felix had his first panic attack late into the night when he was all alone. He didn’t know what happened or what was wrong, he just suddenly felt an intense anxiety wash over him. He remembered curling up into a ball on his floor and just sobbing uncontrollably. The world felt too much for him, like this overwhelming pressure was trying to swallow him whole. Ever since that first incident, the anxiety never went away. He constantly felt a fear digging into him whenever he was awake and some nights he would entirely break down. 

Felix knew that something had to be done about it; he couldn’t continue being this miserable. When he was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder he was told that it would be best to have other people, friends, around him. Felix knew that he had close friends in high school, but he had not seen them since. For some reason, he also found that he couldn’t seem to remember their faces; everything in his memory felt fuzzy. He had never heard of that being a symptom of GAD, but he didn’t know why else he would be unable to remember people who he felt were so important to him at that point in his life. 

The doctor recommended staying with family, but Felix had been bordering while in highschool because his parents were overseas. This left Felix utterly and entirely alone. That was how he ended up checking himself into the mental hospital and he was grateful that he had done so. Because of the large amounts of people who needed this sort of help, the staff at the asylum were very helpful and caring. Though the anxiety was still there, Felix had been having panic attacks a bit less since being admitted and people would work with him often to help him deal with the disorder. 

Though Felix didn’t really have a problem with the other patients at the hospital, he rarely ever left his room. The idea of interacting with others and letting them see just how weak this condition made him terrified Felix. He knew that making friends would likely help him to cope, but the idea of trying sparked an intense anxiety in and of itself. The attendants provided him with books and he spent most of his time either reading or watching television. That was how he found out about the killings. 

Felix had wrapped himself up in his blanket and was watching the news intently. He liked to see what was going on around town since he couldn’t experience it himself. Autumn had just begun and Felix could see through his windows the leaves on the trees changing colors. Most of the news recently had been about people in the town being excited about the season they felt had the strongest supernatural activity. However, today, something much more gruesome flashed on television screens throughout the town of Yellowwood.

_*Jisung*_

“This is ridiculous!” Jisung complained aloud. 

“What a great time to be a vampire, am I right?” his housemate, Minho, replied sarcastically. 

“What do they think we are? Animals?” Jisung scoffed and turned off the television. 

“They don’t know what to think. They can’t even decide whether we actually exist or not.”

“Well, because of these murders, it has been a lot more difficult to find a decent meal. The creepieness of this town usually draws people out at night for stupid reasons, but even the horror-junkies are staying inside at night now.”

Minho shrugged and plopped himself down beside Jisung on the sofa. “Can you blame them? The bodies they found were torn to shreds.” He was sipping blood through a straw that he had shoved into a blood bag.

Jisung swatted at his arm. “Hey, don’t wear out our supply. If these murders continue we are going to have to rely on those. And who knows when there is going to be another blood drive we can steal from.”

Minho scooted away and kicked at his housemate with a socked foot. “I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten in days.”

Jisung shoved the other vampire’s feet off of him, causing Minho to slightly lose his balance. “Yeah, me too,” he said pointedly. “We were supposed to go hunting tonight.”

Minho waved a hand dismissively, taking another long sip. “If we actually manage to find someone, you can have them.”

Jisung glared. He was starving and was trying his best not to just snatch the blood bag from his friend’s hands. “I hate you.”

Minho smirked devilishly. “You love me. And you had better. You are stuck we me forever now.”

Jisung groaned. They just both had to go and get turned into vampires. That really meant that Jisung wasn’t getting rid of his annoying friend anytime soon. They had both been stupid enough to go out at night themselves, back when neither of them really believed any of the stories the other people in the town would spread. He couldn’t remember why he had been out to begin with, but he remembered coming to in an alleyway with a pain in his neck and a terrible taste in his mouth. He remembered trying to eat the next day and vomiting it all back up. He remembered looking in the mirror and seeing nothing. Remembered how it had felt walking out of his house and wanting to bite someone.

Jisung knew that he was friends with Minho at the time, though he had trouble remembering details from his past. He figured out everything that came with being a vampire while also trying to hide it from his friends. Jisung only found out that Minho was a vampire as well when he found him sucking the blood out of someone when he was out hunting himself. After that, they figured things out together. 

They soon discovered that their town was absolutely crawling with vampires and it was no wonder they ended up the way they did. Though most vampires simply fed to keep themselves functioning, there were some that were bent on turning others. Jisung found out fast that they were so much stronger at night. It seemed that the longer they had been vampires and the more they fed, the stronger they became. 

Luckily for Jisung, vampires didn’t actually burn in the sun as all of the superstitions seemed to suggest. The sun simply made him extremely weak and lethargic which is why, after he finished school, he started sleeping through the daytime. Jisung also came to discover that different vampires had different powers, usually depending on the vampire that turned them. In Jisung and Minho’s case, they could both turn into bats, leading them to the assumption that they had been turned by the same person. 

“Don’t remind me,” Jisung replied, standing up from the sofa. “I’m going to change out of my pajamas and then we are leaving. I think I might go insane if I don’t eat soon.”

_*Chan*_

Chan sighed as he put the pill bottle back into the medicine cabinet and wondered back to his bedroom. This was the second night in a row that he had been restless enough to take his insomnia pills. Every time he thought he was getting better sleep would do it’s best to evade him yet again and he couldn’t afford to lose more sleep this close to a full moon. Chan was a werewolf, a fact he could never forget. His scars, both mental and physical, were a constant reminder. On nights he actually managed to sleep, sometimes the attack would still haunt him. It had been almost a year but it wasn’t something that was easily forgotten. 

Chan slipped into bed as quietly as he could so as not to wake his boyfriend. He cuddled as close to Woojin as he could, reveling in the other’s warmth. He knew sleep would come easy with the combination of Woojin’s warmth and the sleeping pills. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He nuzzled into his boyfriend and thought about how grateful he was to have him. He was always there to comfort Chan when he needed it and had been by his side for as long as he could remember. Given, his past was a little fuzzy when he tried to think back on it, but he knew that Woojin had always been with him. 

He finally felt himself beginning to doze off when Woojin suddenly sprung into a sitting position, breathing heavily. Chan startled awake, but a drowsiness still remained thanks to the medication. He did his best to stay in the waking world to figure out what was wrong. In this case, the fact that he could see in the dark was rather helpful.

“Jeongin,” Woojin breathed, sounding frantic. He turned to Chan panicked. “We have to help him.”

Chan, on the verge of passing out then and there, couldn't really comprehend what his boyfriend was trying to say to him. 

“Who?”

_*Hyunjin*_

Hyunjin was running around his house, flinging open cupboards and drawers frantically. “It has to be here somewhere. I was literally just crying over the stupid thing like two days ago, where could I have left it?” He threw his arms up in exasperation as he accidentally knocked over a potion bottle. “My life is a mess!”

He was a little too preoccupied to deal with the mess at the moment and, as the bottle only contained a happiness potion, he could live with it on his kitchen floor for the time being. Hyunjin moved to his bedroom, ready to all but deconstruct his closet in search of the photo album when he noticed something peeking out from under his bed. Sure enough, he found the photo album he was looking for open and facedown halfway under his bed. He was only half-joking about the whole crying thing. 

He picked it up and quickly flipped through the pages. “I knew something didn’t feel right!” He should have known that seer would remember sooner or later. It didn’t take much for the entire spell to fall apart now. Great. 

Hyunjin sighed, running a hand through his hair as he plopped himself down onto his bed. He stared at the picture he had stopped on, wondering what he was going to do. The photo used to show him and all of his friends. They had taken it on Hyunjin’s birthday when they tried to make him a birthday cake in his house when he wasn’t home. At the time, one of Hyunjin’s favorite things to do was use his powers to take pictures of him and his friends so that he could actually be in them. He had felt a picture necessary in this situation because he had come home in the middle of their baking process to see his kitchen in shambles and his friends covered in flour, dough, and icing. 

Call him old school for printing out the pictures to put into a physical album, but magic just liked to work old school sometimes; that wasn’t Hyunjin’s fault. Their final year of school together Hyunjin had to do it. There was too much that was too dangerous for them to know, especially since they were simply humans. Hyunjin comes from a long line of very powerful witches and his friends found out about his powers easier than he would like to admit.

Hyunjin had to use the memory spell, he barely had a choice. After everything that happened that year, they were better off living their lives without magic, without him. He used the photo book for the spell. The pictures in the photobook used to be of Hyunjin and all of his stupid, amazing friends. However, when Hyunjin cast the memory spell, they all disappeared from the photos, leaving him entirely alone in the images. It was heartbreaking to look at and the harsh reality was even worse. 

Hyunjin spent countless sleepless nights crying while looking back at memories he had erased. However, now, something was different. As Hyunjin looked down at the photograph in front of him he saw that he wasn’t alone anymore; Woojin was back in the pictures with him. Hyunjin didn’t know how the older had managed to break the spell, but he knew that Woojin wouldn’t hesitate to remind the others of their past if he could get ahold of them. Hyunjin had figured out that Woojin was a seer when his dreams started coming true. He figured that must have somehow been how this happened. 

He should have know he couldn’t stop what was supposed to happen. Woojin saw it years ago, but Hyunjin thought he could stop it. He could see now that he had been sorely mistaken. He figured he had at least a good day to come up with a pretty good explanation for himself before his friends came knocking at his door. 

_*Jeongin*_

Jeongin had not been to town in months. He had been trying to figure out how to hide his wings ever since they decided to sprout out of his back. His house in the middle of the woods provided a good place for him to hide in the meantime. He had finally run out of food in his house and was in desperate need of more. He had already made holes for his wings in most of his shirts so he tried his best to tuck his wings away under a rather chunky jacket. He knew that the people of Yellowwood already had their suspicions about the supernatural and Jeongin was not about ready to be deemed evil. 

He decided to leave before daybreak so that he could avoid as many people as he could. He was having trouble seeing in the dark as he walked from his house and towards town. Though he lived in the woods, the walk wasn’t all too far. He had bene practicing his flying and knew that it would be much faster, but he wasn’t about to risk being seen. 

He had almost made it out of the trees when he heard a low rumbling sound from behind him. He looked in the direction of the sound, alarmed, and was met with a pair of glowing, red eyes. Jeongin squeaked in fright, but had no idea what to do. He froze. He was too afraid to turn away from the red eyes which were ever so slowly approaching that he barely noticed the sound of something running towards him from the direction of town. 

He screamed when he felt something grab his arm and looked over to see a man tugging on him frantically. “Jeongin! Thank goodness we got here in time! Come on!”

Jeongin looked into the stranger’s face, terrified when recognition suddenly shot through him. “W-Woojin?” Jeongin thought he could faintly see another figure behind him in the darkness

Jeongin didn’t fight as Woojin pulled him along. He heard what sounded like growling coming from behind him after they were a little bit further ahead and Woojin turned to call back. “Chan! Come on!”

A third figure came running up beside them and the trio was suddenly sprinting through the forest until they made it to town. Jeongin was panting heavily and ready to stop once they reached a streetlight, but Woojin wasn’t slowing down. 

“We can’t stop yet!” He yelled and Jeongjin wanted to cough out his lungs. They ran until they reached a house that Woojin flung open the door to, dragging Jeongin in. Chan was right behind them, slamming the door and locking it. 

Woojin pulled Jeongin into an embrace that Chan quickly joined. “Thank goodness you are okay,” Chan breathed. 

Jeongin was honestly really scared and confused and just wanted to know what on earth was going on. “What was that thing? How did you know to help me? Why didn’t I know who you were?” He could feel himself shaking.

The two finally let him go. “I don’t know. I just had a dream that you were in trouble and knew that I needed to go. We couldn’t even remember you until tonight.”

Jeongin wad distraught. “You and the others meant everything to me. Why couldn’t I remember? Why did I have to be alone for all of this time?” He looked between Chan and Woojin. “Did everyone forget me?”

“It’s not just you. We couldn’t remember anyone. I have no idea where the others even ended up,” Woojin replied as Chan slowly wandered over to the couch and fell onto it. “He’s tired,” Woojin offered by means of explanation. 

“But you two still know each other?” Jeongin asked, still immensely confused. 

Woojin shrugged. “I guess it’s because we stayed together.” They both looked over to Chan who was now dead asleep on the sofa. “I told him he can’t take those pills in the middle of the night. He’s going to be tired tomorrow.”

“He still has insomnia?” Jeongin was slightly comforted by the fact that he seemed to remember that. Rather than all of his memories rushing back to him at once, they were simply _there_ when he tried to call upon them, unlike before. 

Woojin nodded solemnly. “I would love to say that it has gotten better, but . . . well.” He gestured to the sleeping figure that was Chan and Jeongin didn’t need further explanation. 

“I’m really happy to see that you are both still together. I really miss everyone. I could have really used some friends these last few months . . .” Jeongin couldn’t help thinking about how frustrated he had been since those stupid wings decided to sprout from his back. He had always known there was something different about him. He felt memories trying to surface in his thoughts but something still seemed to be missing.

“Well, we’re together again at least. Chan and I are always here if you need us.”

Jeongin threw his arms around Woojin again in a tight hug. “Thank you,” He mumbled before pulling away. “But there is something I need to show you. For some reason, I can’t seem to remember some things still, but something tells me that I can trust you with this.”

Jeongin took a shaky breath and slowly took off his jacket. He felt his wings unfurl behind him, and looked down to the floor in shame. He heard Woojin gasp and was ready to run out of the house. 

“What did . . . when?”

“They decided to grow between my shoulder blades a few months ago. I have hardly left my house since. I don’t know what’s going on and I have been so afraid of everyone. I’m not human and this isn’t right. And now some demon just tried to attack me and I don’t know what to do.” Tears were streaming down Jeongin’s cheeks before he could stop them. 

Woojin put a hand on Jeongin’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. You . . . aren’t the only one with a secret.” Jeongin looked up into Woojin’s eyes in alarm. “But I think that’s for Chan to tell you.”

Chan? Jeongin let his eyes once again wander to the sleeping boy, looking for any signs of something different about him. As far as Jeongin could tell, there were no signs of wings sprouting out of his back. 

“You can stay with us for now if you would like. I don’t know if I want you going home with that thing lurking around.”

Jeongin shivered at the memory of what he had seen. “Thanks.”

Jeongin was curled up on the sofa (not the once Chan was still sleeping soundly on) with a warm cup of tea, Woojin beside him. He had turned on the television to Show Jeongin the stories of the bodies that had been found. Jeongin hadn’t watched tv in a long, long time so he was unaware of the dangers of going out when it was still dark outside. 

“What do you think happened to the others since we last saw them?” Jeongin asked curiously. 

“I don’t know,” Woojin replied. “But I think I want to find them.” Jeongin gave him a questioning look. “I just . . . have this feeling that we need to be together again. All of us.”

Jeongin smiled at the idea. “I think I would like that.”

_*Changbin*_

Changbin hadn't left his house since he was turned. It had only been three days, but he was already feeling the insanity kick in. He would call it withdrawls, but he had never even tasted someone else’s blood. Changbin had woken up outside of his house with a pain in his neck a few days ago and realized too late what it meant. He had been craving blood so badly that it physically hurt him, but he refused to hurt anyone. Instead, he had locked himself in his house and refused himself the right to leave. Needless to say he was suffering. 

He never asked to be a vampire, he never wanted to be a vampire. People were being found around the town, mauled and entirely drained of blood and Changbin was terrified of what he was. He had no idea what being a vampire entailed and he didn’t want to find out. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were before. 

Changbin nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at his door. He was terrified of answering for fear that he would lose control. He could smell the people on the other side, a sensation he was wildly unfamiliar with. He knew there was blood pumping through the veins of whoever was on the other side of his door and he was hungry. 

“Changbin.” The vampire startled at the familiar voice. He couldn’t figure out why he recognised it, but something about it struck a chord within him. 

“Who is it?” He barely managed to croak out. 

“It’s Chan. Woojin and Jeongin are with me. Can we come in?”

Chan? Changbin gasped when he suddenly remembered why he knew these people. They had been practically inseparable; why had he forgotten them? 

Changbin was still terrified to open the door, but his curiosity got the best of him and he weakly made his way to the entrance of his house to let in his friends. Sure enough, three familiar faces stood on the other side of the doorway. Three people he never thought he would be living without. And yet, here he was, cold and alone. And now, a monster. He couldn’t help it, Changbin rushed foreward and wrapped his arms around the first person he could, who just so happened to be Chan. 

“Woah, woah,” Chan said with a slight laugh. He sounded tired. “Are you okay?” He pulled away. “You look like death.” Changbin flinched. 

“I—” he began feebly before an overwhelmingly sweet smell invaded his senses. His eyes immediately shot to the source: Woojin. 

Something inhuman seemed to take over and, before Changbin could stop himself, he was lunging at Woojin faster than he knew possible. He was starving and he was no longer in control. Just when Changbin thought he was going to be able to sink his teeth into the older’s neck, he was suddenly tackled to the ground. He looked up in alarm upon hitting the ground to see Chan pinning him down, lips curled in a snarl. Why didn’t he smell as good as Woojin did? Why didn’t Jeongin?

Changbin finally came back to his senses, but the hunger still churned in the pit of his stomach. It was so much more difficult to control when he was so close to food. It was like not eating for a week and then sitting at a table where a feast sat fully prepared that you couldn’t touch. It was excruciating. 

“I’m sorry. I—” Changbin was looking at Chan, terrified, more at himself than anything. Chan also seemed to snap back into reality, picking himself up off of the ground. He helped Changbin up but narrowed his eyes at him warily. He stepped in front of Woojin protectively and something about the act felt more animal than human. “There’s . . . It’s just . . .” Changbin struggled to find the words he needed. “I have to go.”

He spun around to reenter his house before he felt a hand holding him back. He turned to see Woojin grasping his wrist. His eyes widened in surprise. “It’s okay,” The older said. “Can we come in?”

Changbin hesitated. The scent was overwhelming and he wanted to badly to take from him. He looked Woojin in the eyes. Silently pleading for him to understand, but he didn’t back down. Changbin sighed and looked away. “Okay.”

Once the four were all seated in Changbin’s living room, Changbin’s anxiety spiked. “I don’t think you should be here. I don’t think I can explain what happened earlier and its not safe.”

“You are shaking,” Jeongin commented, concerned. 

“He hasn’t been eating,” Woojin commended in reply. 

Woojin looked to him in alarm. “You— I . . . How did you know that?”

Woojin looked down awkwardly. “I . . . had a dream.”

Suddenly, a memory surfaced in Changbin’s mind and he wondered why he hadn’t remembered it earlier. “That’s right . . .” He began softly. “You could always see things in your dreams. The future.” Changbin felt frustrated with himself. Why was he only just remembering this? “Then do you know . . .?” Changbin wondered if this meant he knew about what he had become. That would explain why he didn’t seem surprised. 

“What you are? Yes, but you're not the only one who is different.”

Changbin looked between Chan and Jeongin, shocked. “You don’t mean . . .”

Woojin shook his head. “I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to find the others.”

“Why?” Changbin cautioned. 

Woojin was silent for a moment. Chan and Jeongin also seemed to be anticipating his response. “Just a feeling.” Something told Changbin that this was not the full truth, but he could also tell that he wasn’t going to get anything more out of the older. 

“Alright,” Changbin said, pretending he didn’t still have the intense urge to drink his friend's blood. “Who’s next.”

“First,” Woojin began, leveling Changbin with a serious look. “We need to get you to Minho and Jisung.”

_*Seungmin*_

Seungmin shivered, cold and alone. His heart felt heavy and he just wanted to lie curled up in this bed and never leave. He knew that the medicine would kick in soon, but he hated these in-between moments. He heard voices whispering to him, some he understood, others he didn't. He closed his eyes and tried to block everything out. He knew it was just his brain messing with him, but he felt hopeless. He felt that he could drift away in this moment and no one would notice or care. He was useless. 

Seungmin couldn’t even find it in himself to be alarmed when a sudden pounding sounded at the door. He peeked out from his blankets to see one of the nurses peek her head into the room. 

“You have visitors,” she explained. Seungmin didn’t know how to explain that he didn’t feel like he could be around anyone right now and he hadn’t the slightest idea who would come to visit him in the first place. He had checked himself into the psychiatric ward when he realized his condition was getting out of control. He was hearing voices constantly and seeing things he knew couldn’t be there. On top of that, he found that his manic depressive, or bipolar, disorder was becoming more than difficult to manage. The voices had been there for nearly as long as Seungmin could remember, but the bipolar disorder seemed to come out of nowhere. 

He hummed something that the nurse took as approval and Seungmin managed to shift himself into some semblance of a sitting position to see who was there. The second he met eyes with Hyunjin he felt his heartbeat stutter. His mood changed in a flash, like the deep, depressive stupor had never been there at all. He hoped it was the medicine, but his sudden burst of extreme energy suggested otherwise. 

Seungmin flung himself out of bed and clung to Hyunjin like his life depended on it. “I haven’t seen you in forever, it’s almost like I had completely forgotten you, but that could never happen because I could never forget you or the others.” He pulled back. “The others! Oh, are they here too? I miss everyone.”

Hyunjin knit his eyebrows together. “I have never seen you like this.” He sounded concerned and Seungmin found himself pouting. 

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I’m here for a reason.” He could tell he was talking fast but his mind was racing. This was not helped by the fact that he seemed to just suddenly be remembering everything from his past all at once. 

“No one else his here . . . yet. But they will be. I signed you out of this place. We need to go.”

Seungmin was alarmed, and with good reason. “What do you mean you signed me out!? I signed myself in! You aren’t me! You aren’t even related to me! Besides, I need this place! That’s why I’m here!” Seungmin was panicking and Hyunjin noticed. 

Hyunjin took Seungmin’s hand in his own and something about it felt so familiar, but he couldn’t seem to quite place the memory. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I used my powers, but it’s only because we have to leave. I’ll take care of you, don’t worry. They gave me your medication.”

Seungmin was stating to somewhat calm down, but he still felt way too high energy. Then he caught on to a part of what Hyunjin had said. “Powers!? Wait . . . wait . . .” He felt like there was something in the back of his memories, trying its best to surface, but it was only just out of his reach. It was beyond frustrating. Suddenly, a word formed in Seungmin’s mind. “Witch! You’re a witch!”

Hyunjin’s eye widened in alarm and he slapped a hand over Seungmin’s mouth. “Don’t yell that!”

Seungmin removed the other’s hand. “We are in a psych ward. I don’t think anyone will feel all too inclined to believe me. But, also, why am I having such a difficult time remembering things right now. Is this a part of my bipolar disorder? Because they never said anything about memory loss. Also are you going to explain why the heck you are stealing me from a mental hospital?”

Hyunjin sighed. “It really is strange seeing you like this. I hope the medication kicks in soon and you are a little more yourself. I’ll explain things to you once we get out of here. For now, we need to go and get Felix. I checked him out as well.”

“Felix is here too!?” Seungmin was genuinely surprised. He had been here for a pretty long time and he could have sworn he never once saw Felix. Hyunjin also seemed puzzled by this. 

“You didn’t know that he was here too?”

Seungmin shook his head. “Did he just check in?”

“He’s been here for almost a year.”

Seungmin was perplexed, but agreed to go with Hyunjin, though it wasn’t like he exactly had any other option. His hand was still intertwined with Hyunjin’s and something about the contact was making Seungmin’s heart beat a little faster. He wondered why he had thought he was alone all of this time when such a beautiful boy had been so close to him. 

_*Minho*_

Minho trailed behind Woojin as he led everyone to the front door of a house he didn’t recognize. He had come bursting into his and Jisung’s home with Chan, Jeongin, and Changbin. If their sudden appearance wasn’t confusing enough, Minho almost immediately recognized Changbin as a new vampire and he had many questions. He and Jisung had reluctantly spared one of their blood bags for their friend but they were offered no explanations. Instead they were dragged out of their house in broad daylight to visit someone else they had forgotten. 

“Are you going to explain what is going on?” Minho complained. Luckily, he and Jisung had fed the night before and were refreshed enough to be walking about during the day, or Minho would have been even more cranky than he already was. 

Woojin sighed. “I will, I promise. I just . . . want everyone together first.” With that, he knocked on the door. Footsteps could be heard from the other side and them the door was being opened. 

Minho should be used to it by now, but he was still shocked by yet another familiar face. Even though he remembered all of his friend and how close they were, some things still felt a little distant. Seeing Hyunjin standing in front of him made it seem more real somehow. 

Hyunjin offered the group a surprisingly calm smile. “I knew you’d be here soon. Come in.”

Minho was surprised to see Felix and Seungmin sitting on the sofa when they walked into the room. Seungmin looked as confused as the rest of them and Felix looked anxious. Hyunjin sat them all down in his living room and everyone was silent for a moment. 

“Alright, explain,” Jisung pressed and Minho was grateful. 

Hyunjin looked to Woojin as well, though he seemed like he already knew what he was going to say. “I can’t really explain much. All I know is that I had a dream.” Woojin paused and looked around nervously. Minho saw recognition spark on some people’s faces, but he was still lost. “First it was just Jeongin, but then I saw the rest of you too. I saw where I could find you. And I saw us all together, but . . . something was wrong.” That was all the further his explanation went. Then, it suddenly clicked in Minho’s brain.

“Prophetic dreams! I totally forgot! I guess that also explains how you knew we were vampires.” Minho didn’t really think about the words before they came out of his mouth. Chan, Woojin, and Jeongin had already seen Jisung and Minho pull a blood bag out of their refrigerator and Changbin suck it dry, but he forgot they weren’t the only ones in this room. Felix, Seungmin, and Hyunjin looked to Minho in blatant alarm.

“You _what_?” Felix squeaked in horror. 

“You were turned?” Hyunjin added. He put his hands to his temples. “This town,” he sighed. Minho was only slightly off put by the fact that he didn’t seemed surprised by the existence of vampires. Felix, on the other hand, looked absolutely terrified. 

“Wait, you and who else? You said we?” Hyunjin questioned. 

“Jisung and I were turned back in school.” Jisung smiled awkwardly. “And apparently Changbin here was just turned,” Minho added, jutting a finger towards where Changbin was sitting beside Felix. The fledgling vampire winced. Felix gasped and shuffled away and Changbin knit his eyebrows together. Honestly, Felix was being sort of smart in doing so. Changbin was new and having trouble controlling himself and Felix smelled way more delicious than anyone else Minho had ever been around. 

“Three of you are vampires, Woojin can tell the future, and Hyunjin is a witch. What’s next, fairies?” Seungmin asked, exasperated. No one saw Jeongin bite his lip nervously.

“Wait, Hyunjin’s a _what_?” Jisung shouted. 

Hyunjin sighed. “Your memories are still worse than I thought they would be. You all used to know. We would hang out after school together in our clubroom. We called it the Supernatural Club, but we never actually did anything besides goof off and spend time together. Sometimes we would venture off into the woods.” Hyunjin paused, biting his lip as if to stop himself from saying more. “Once you figured out my powers, I used to use them around you all the time.”

The more Hyunjin talked, the more Minho actually remembered. “But . . . Why did we forget?” Felix questioned softly. “Why couldn’t I remember you?”

“That’s really difficult to explain. What matters now is that you are all starting to remember again.” Hyunjin sound resigned. 

Felix seemed like he was ready to cry. “All of this time I thought I was alone. My parents live in another country and I couldn’t remember any of you. Now that I do, I know we were so close. And yet, I spent all of this time alone.” He sounded so broken and it was breaking Minho’s heart. He had been with Jisung this whole time while Felix had been alone.

“But you were with Hyunjin?” Chan questioned, concern dripping from his words. 

“He checked me out of the psychiatric hospital today,” Felix explained sadly. 

“The psychiatric hospital?” Changbin questioned, clearly worried. 

Hyunjin sighed again. “Maybe we should all spend some time catching up. A lot has happened since we last saw each other.”

Felix swiped at some tears that were trying to escape from his eyes. “After school, I lived alone. I seemed like it came out of nowhere, but I started having these really bad anxiety attacks. Even when it isn’t bad, it seems to always be there.” He looked up into the eyes of his friends who were all trained softly on him. “The anxiety. I couldn’t deal with it alone so I checked myself into the psychiatric ward. I have been there for nearly a year. The anxiety isn’t as bad now, but it’s still there.”

“Lix,” Changbin whispered sympathetically, reaching a hand out for him. Felix flinched and Changbin retracted his hand sadly. Minho had not heard that nickname in forever and Changbin seemed surprised to have remembered it too. 

“It’s this town, isn’t it?” Chan asked to no one in particular. “Half of the people in our school were bound to end up there by statistic only.”

“Has your insomnia gotten any better?” Hyunjin asked, topically. 

Chan shook his head. “The medication is part of why I am so tired right now.”

“I told you that you can’t take it in the middle of the night, Chan!” Woojin reprimanded. 

Felix sniffled, but smiled. “You two are still together?” He had scooted closer to Changbin again. Chan and Woojin smiled shyly in confirmation. 

“At least some of us were happy. Felix wasn’t the only one in that asylum,” Seungmin spoke up. 

“You too?” Jeongjin questioned.

“Bipolar disorder,” he explained. 

“You seem okay right now,” Minho cautioned. 

“It’s my medication. I swear it works wonders."

“You should have seen him when I picked him up. He was practically bouncing off of the walls,” Hyunjin added.

“You mean when you stole me,” Seungmin corrected.

“How did Hyunjin even get you out of there?” Woojin wisely questioned. 

“I thought we just went over the whole me being a witch thing.”

“Is that why you still remember everything?” Jisung questioned. 

This seemed to surprise Hyunjin. “ . . . Yes. But I still want to know what has been going on with the rest of you. I never knew where to find you.”

“Well, Jisung and I have been living together. We already went over the whole vampire thing. However, it suddenly got a lot more difficult to feed, what with all of these murders being blamed on vampires.” Minho couldn’t help complaining. 

Jeingin turned to Woojin and Chan. “Is that what tried to get me this morning?”

“What!?” So many people spoke the question at once that Minho could not decipher who all contributed. 

“Something tried to attack him on his way to town,” Woojin explained. “Chan and I went to rescue him.”

“What was it?” Minho asked curiously. “Was it really a vampire?”

Jeongin shook his head and shieverd. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. It was dark. And I was scared.”

“So you have been alone too?” Hyunjin asked. 

Jeongin nodded. “But . . there is something I want to tell you. You have all been pouring your hearts out and I don’t like hiding this.” Everyone looked at him curiously. 

Jeougin met Woojin’s eyes before carefully sliding off his jacket. Minho cannot express how surprised he was to see translucent wings unfurling behind the younger. 

“Woah!” Changbin exclaimed. “I was not expecting that.”

“I was joking about the fairy thing!” Seungmin breathed. 

“The trees always did like you,” Hyunjin whispered cryptically. 

“Would one more secret be too much?” Chan asked. All eyes turned to him. He took a deep breath. “I’m a werewolf.”

“This town is chaos!” Jisung shouted. “Apparently I used to know that witches exist. That is strange enough. Then I get bitten by a vampire. I guess they exist too. And now you are telling me that I have to come to terms with the fact that fairies and werewolves are also real? This town has to be cursed or something. Not to mention people here just randomly developing all sorts of mental disorders that they never showed any signs of prior.”

“You are kind of right,” Hyunjin offered. “There is something off about this town. It’s not that these things don’t exist in other places, but this town seems to attract them. It is like a magnet for the supernatural. My family has been living here for generations and they said the pull has only grown stronger. It’s at its worst near Samhain.”

“Samhain?” Jeongin asked for all of them.

“Halloween,” Hyunjin clarified. 

“But, I’m not special,” Felix pointed out.

“And neither am I,” Seungmin added. 

Minho didn’t understand the look the Hyunjin gave Seungmin. “Just because you two and Woojin are human’s doesn’t make you not special. The others were humans too. They were just . . . infected.” He looked around to see everyone averting their eyes. “Except Jeongin. I think he has been a fairy all along. He only just grew into his wings. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it sooner.”

“So . . .” Minho began after several moments of silence. “Why are we all here? Woojin had a dream that we were supposed to be together, I get that. But what now?” Everyone looked between one another and it became increasingly clear that no one had an answer. Minho sighed. “I don’t know if you understand this, but this is when Jisung and I usually sleep. You know, being vampires and all. It’s already close to sunset and I am, frankly, pretty dang tired.”

“I think it would be best if everyone headed home. But let’s meet up here again tomorrow, yeah? I missed you guys.” Hyunjin smiled sadly and Minho felt a pang in his heart. 

“Uhm . . .” Felix began. “What are Seungmin and I supposed to do? You kind of stole us from where we have been living.”

Hyunjin winced. “But you both had a place to stay before that, right?”

“I cleared everything out before checking myself into the psychiatric ward. Even if I did go back now there wouldn’t be anything there. That and I think my key is still at the asylum.”

“I should have thought this through a little more. I have room for one other person here right now. I can work on opening a doorway to another room, but that will take at least another day.”

“I have an extra room at my place,” Changbin offered. 

“I can stay with Changbin,” Felix responded, surprising Minho. He had seemed like he was terrified of him only minutes ago and there was good reason. Woojin had said Changbin had been starving himself and lashed out at him. He didn't know how to control his urges yet. Then Minho saw the resolve in Felix’s eyes and knew that he was trying to prove that he wasn’t scared. 

With that settled, everyone stood from their seats. “Same time tomorrow?” Chan asked with a smile. Everyone agreed. 

“I really missed you guys,” Minho admitted. “Try not to forget about me by tomorrow.”

_*Changbin*_

Changbin got Felix settled in his guest room before heading off to his for the night. He still wasn’t used to the whole vampire sleep schedule and was upset to find himself not even the slightest bit tired. Instead, he just lie on his bed, thinking. 

He wasn’t hungry anymore. It was a strange feeling. He knew he couldn’t keep starving himself like he had. Especially now that he was going to be around his friends. He really couldn’t comprehend how he could have forgotten people so important to him. They were his whole life and then he had nothing. One of them in particular Changbin had missed the most without even knowing it. 

Changbin was delighted to have reconnected with everyone, but the second he saw Felix again, something seemed to click into place. Almost like he had been missing something without knowing and now he finally had it back. The younger looked so much more frail and terrified than Changbin had know him to be in the past and he wanted so badly to give him a hug. However, Felix’s fear was palpable. Changbin still wasn’t entirely sure why Felix had wanted to stay with him when he was clearly frightened. 

But there was something else about Felix that almost knocked Changbin off of his feet when he walked into Hyunjin’s house. Changbin had already found out the hard way that humans smelled delicious, but something about Felix was oh so much more tempting. Changbin had just eaten and yet the younger’s scent had almost made his mouth water. He hated to think of his friend like food as much as he hated being a vampire in the first place. 

Changbin couldn’t stop thinking about Felix. He looked so pale and weak and Changbin remembered how lively he used to be. His missed seeing Felix smile. He had just about made up his mind to go and check on him when he heard a tapping on his window. He froze in fear, thinking that he imagined it. It sounded again, louder this time and Changbin realized it wasn’t tapping at all; it was knocking. 

Changbin steeled himself for the worst and peeled back the curtains in his bedroom. He screamed when he saw a face on the other side. He had almost turned tail and run when he realized the face belonged to Minho. Another person slowly appeared behind him and Changbin could tell that it was Jisung. 

“Let us in,” Minho mouthed. 

Changbin gave in and opened the window. His friends stared at him. “Get in here,” he commanded. That must be another vampire thing. The two vampires crawled into his bedroom and Changbin wondered what his life had come to. “What is wrong with you?”

“We couldn’t in good conscience leave you in a house with a human. Especially not after how you were when you showed up at our house today,” Jisung replied.

“I don’t want to drink from anyone! Especially not Felix! I would never,” Changbin defended, pretending he hadn’t felt the slightest bit hungry when he was near the other. 

Minho fixed him with a dead stare. “Yeah right. Having him in your house is like telling you that you have to sleep next to a cake you aren’t allowed to eat.”

“What kind of analogy . . . ?” Changbin began. “I would never hurt Felix.”

“Not on purpose,” Jisung reasoned. “But that’s why we are here. We are taking you out.”

Changbin gulped. “You don’t mean . . .”

“Yes, we do mean. You need to learn how to feed on people sooner or later. We only have so many blood bags and we need those too.”

“No.” Changbin argued like a petulant five year old, planting his feet firmly on the ground. 

Minho and Jisung shared a look and, before he really knew what was going on, Changbin was being dragged out of his bedroom window. If Felix heard the yelling he probably thought he was being kidnapped. Honestly, he kind of was.

Two two finally managed to get Changbin to walk with them down the streets of the town, after no small amount of resistance on his part. Changbin still wasn’t used to the fact that he could see in the dark; it was disorienting. He also found some sort of comfort and satisfaction that there was no one on the streets. 

“See,” Changbin argued. “People are too scared to come out at night. And for good reason.” 

“People may not be out on the streets, but there are several places open at night,” Jisung reasoned. 

“You are not taking me to a club,” Changbin shot back. 

Minho rolled his eyes. “We are going to a twenty-four hour diner. Usually people who are traveling here will stop there. That or teenagers who think they are cool coming out at night.”

“And what, you want to just take a bite out of a customer while they are waiting for their late night waffles?”

“Changbin, you are making this way more difficult than it has to be. We are going to wait for them to come out, obviously.” Minho seemed to be getting annoyed with Changbin’s persistent resistance. 

“We’re almost there,” Jisung reasoned. “We can deal with him them.”

Changbin could see the lights of the diner in question as they approached it. However, they didn’t end up getting much closer because Minho stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” Jisung questioned. 

“Did you hear that?” Minho sounded terrified and that, in turn, made Changbin terrified. 

“Hear what?” Changbin asked, but then he heard it too. He had no way of describing the sound. It was something monstrous and distant. It sounded almost disturbingly like eating, but like a wild animal that had just caught its prey. 

The three shared a look. “I will go and check it out,” Jisung offered bravely. Minho grabbed his sleeve and met his eyes. They both nodded and then Changbin watched Jisung _turn into a bat_. Needless to say he was confused. 

Changbin watched the bat, Jisung, fly off towards the sound before turning to Minho. “Excuse me, what did I just witness with my two eyes?”

“You have a lot to learn.”

“What is that supposed to mean.” Minho didn’t answer. “Minho, what is that supposed to mean?”

Changbin didn’t even see bat Jisung flying back before Jisung was suddenly standing in front of him again. He looked terrified. 

“We have to go!” Jisung yelled. Minho and Changbin looked at him, scared and confused. “Now!” He grabbed their arms and took off running in the direction they had just come from. 

“What is it?” Minho pleaded. “What happened.”

Changbin saw Jisung turn his head long enough to look the other dead in the eyes. “It’s a feral.”

Minho swore. “That explains the state of those bodies.”

Changbin felt a chill creep down his back an he soon realized that something was off. It took him a moment to realize that there were footsteps coming from behind them. Changbin made the mistake of looking over his shoulder as he ran. He was horrified of what he was. The figure looked human and, yet, at the same time, animalistic. It looked like a shadow had picked itself right off of the pavement, dark and unsure in its figure. However, the most startling part of it was the piercing red eyes that glowed in the darkness. Changbin turned back around and ran a little faster.

Finally, they made it back to Changbin’s house, crawling back in through his open window. Thanks to the fact that they had left it open, Changbin’s room was now freezing. Changbin slammed the window closed behind them. 

“Are we safe now?” Changbin was really scared and really confused and he never wanted to leave his house again. “What was that thing?”

“It was a feral,” Minho answered. “It must be what is responsible for the murders.”

“What’s a feral?” Changbin dared to question. 

“It’s a vampire who has lost all humanity. A vampire who kills without any remorse until they are nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster,” Jisung explained with a shiver. 

“It was chasing us,” Changbin stated shakily. He couldn’t get the image out of his head. 

“To that thing, we are competition. It would have killed us.” Changbin shivered at Minho’s words. 

“We need to go,” Jisung said, looking at Minho. He turned back to Changbin. “I’m sorry. We’ll have to try thing again some other time. It . . . isn’t safe right now.”

“That’s exactly why you can’t go back out there!” Changbin shouted. “You just said that thing would kill you!”

“We can’t just stay here. We are going to need sleep and you only have one guest room and that is already occupied.” Changbin frowned at Minho’s words. “It will be okay. We can fly.”

“Both of you?” Changbin questioned incredulously. “How is that even possible.”

“The more you drink, the more you gain. You have a power too, you just don’t know what yet.” It was still vague, but Jisung’s explanation gave him more to work with than Minho’s. 

Minho opened the window. “We’ll be okay. Promise.” Jisung turned into a bat and flew outside, hovering by the window to wait for Minho. “See you tomorrow.” He offered Changbin a smile before turning into a bat and flying away with his housemate. 

Changbin closed the locked the window once more and went to go and sit on his bed. He shivered, grabbing the blanket to pull it around himself when he heard screaming. He immediately flung himself off of the bed and ran to the guest room.

Felix didn’t even notice Changbin entering. He was curled up in one of the corners of the room, sobbing. His arms were wrapped around his knees and his head was buried in them. Changbin could see that his nails were digging into his skin. At first, Changbin thought it was a panic attack, but them he saw that Felix was still trying to back further into the corner like he was trying to get away from something. Changbin looked around the room,but he didn’t see anything. 

He rushed over to Felix and dropped to his knees beside him. “Felix,” He whispered softly. “Lix, I’m here. It’s okay.” Felix shook his head, still not looking up. “Felix . . .” Changbin reached out to set his hand on Felix’s shoulder. The younger finally looked up, tears in his eyes. When he finally saw Changbin he flung his arms around him. Changbin sunk into the embrace, trying his best to let the other know that he was safe. 

“Binnie . . .” Felix’s voice cracked and Changbin’s heart flipped in his chest. He had not heart that nickname in a long, long time. 

“It’s okay,” Changbin whispered again, happy to finally be touching Felix, to be able to comfort him. 

Felix pulled away and looked him dead in the eyes. They were red and puffy, but they were pleading. “Changbin, there is something in this room.”

Changbin felt the fear spike through his body. “Felix, what do you mean?”

Felix shook his head and swallowed hard. “Something . . . something threw the blankets off of me. And . . . and . . .” Changbin could tell Felix was getting worked up and he was shaking like a leaf. Changbin took his hands and squeezed them reassuringly. “I . . . I looked around and I couldn’t see anything. But . . . but then . . . something tried to pull me out.” Changbin could feel himself tense in fear. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he felt the urge to look around the room, but he wanted to give Felix his undivided attention. “I felt hands on me. Grabbing me. Pulling me off of the bed.” He was crying.

Changbin tried not to show that he was just as scared as Felix was. He had lived here all by himself and the thought of something like this happening in here was beyond terrifying. However, he wanted to make Felix feel safe, if nothing else. He just wanted him to smile again. “Do you want to stay in my room for the rest of the night?” Felix sniffed and nodded. 

Changbin took his hand a led him back to his bedroom. He noticed on the way out that the blankets had, indeed, been thrown to the floor and he shivered. Changbin’s room was still cold and he was glad that he had a thick comforter. Felix crawled into the bed, still shaking. Changbin settled on the other side of the bed, still not tired and a little too afraid to sleep himself. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to stay awake a little longer, just to keep watch. 

It wasn’t long before Felix’s sniffles turned into the soft, heavy breathing of sleep. Changbin couldn’t help glancing over to him. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, a sharp contrast to the worry that ways always present on his face when he was awake. Changbin sincerely wished for him to be happy and hated that he was to anxious all of the time. He made a mental note to ask Hyunjin if he had picked up Felix’s medicine when they went back to his house. 

Looking at the freckled face of the younger as he slept, Changbin was overcome with memories and feelings that had been buried for far too long. Changbin never realized he felt like something was missing until he saw Felix again. His fondness for the other boy was almost overwhelming. He remembered how adorable he had looked back in school. He had moved to the town from another country and was too shy to make friends at first. Changbin had noticed him sitting alone the first day of school when he transferred and couldn’t just let him sit there by himself. In a way, that was the beginning of their little group. He completed them. 

Though Changbin still wasn’t tired and was still reluctant to sleep, he knew that it would be better to get his rest now so he was awake to head over to Hyunjin’s. He sighed and snuggled further into the covers. He knew that his room was cold, but it somehow felt more freezing than before. It didn’t make sense, since he was now buried under blankets. He thought it might be a vampire thing, but looked over to see Felix shivering too. Changbin pulled the blankets further up on his friend for good measure and then turned around and closed his eyes, trying his best to sleep. 

_*Woojin*_

Woojin was glad that he and Chan had decided to keep a guest room in their house despite the fact that they didn’t even remember having friends. Jeongin was far too frightened to go back to his house where it sat in the middle of the woods, so he was staying with Chan and Woojin for the time being. He was also glad at least one person in this house could sleep properly. Woojin was a little afraid to go back to sleep after what he had seen the previous night and Chan had effectively messed up his sleep schedule when he look his sleeping pills in the middle of the night. They both lay awake for most of the night.

When Woojin woke up, the sun was already high in the sky and Chan was in a dead sleep beside him. He didn’t dare wake up his boyfriend, knowing that he rarely slept this well. Instead, he sleepily made his way to the kitchen, which was attached to the living room, as it was in most of the houses in town. He walked in to see Jeongin happily opening and closing cupboards. Woojin would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least mildly surprised by the wings on the younger’s back. Those were going to take some getting used to, but his boyfriend was a werewolf so he figured he could manage. 

“Good morning,” He chimed happily, and the younger jumped, frightened. “Sorry,” Woojin laughed. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Ah, I was just looking for something to eat,” he explained, shyly. 

“I need to go shopping,” Woojin admitted. “We don’t have much. In fact, I see no reason why I can’t go now. Want to come?”

Jeongin smiled and nodded. “Let me grab a jacket,” he said before trotting off to his room. “Help me tuck in my wings?” he called over his shoulder. Woojin called out an affirmation, almost laughing at the strange request. 

Woojin left a note for Chan when he woke up and the two headed off to the store. Woojin’s hadn’t really made a grocery list so he was just sort of accepting all of the things that Jeongin threw into the cart, no matter now needlessly sugary they seemed. Once the two finished, they went back to replenish the kitchen with goodies. 

Woojin parked on the curb near his house, and was ready to step out of the car when he noticed him. Jeongin had his hand on the door, ready to open it, but Woojin reached out to put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Wait,” he whispered. 

Jeongin followed Woojin’s gaze to see the man standing in front of their house. Woojin’s blood ran cold. He had never seen the man before in his life and he seemed abnormally tall and thin. He was doing nothing but standing in front of the house, staring at it. Woojin shivered in fear and he was terrified to move. He almost wanted to start the car back up and drive away, but he wasn’t about to just leave Chan in there alone. 

With a shaking hand, Woojin picked up his phone and called Chan. Jeongin gave him a terrified look and Woojin put a finger to his lips to keep him from talking. The phone rang and it almost felt too loud in the silence. Finally, after what felt like forever, Chan picked up. 

“Hello?” he answered. “Are you back? Do you need help with groceries?” His voice echoed in the otherwise silent car. 

“Chan,” Woojin called out softly. “Look outside. Don’t . . . don’t get too close to the window, but look outside.” There was silence on the other end and Woojin knew that his boyfriend could hear the fear in his voice. Woojin looked intently at the house and he could see the curtains move slightly. 

“Woojin, what is that?” The fear in Chan’s voice was palpable. Woojin couldn’t help but notice that he had used the word “what” rather than “who.”

“I don’t know,” Woojin whispered. “But I don’t know what to do.”

Woojin could hear Chan taking a deep breath on the other end of the phone. “Okay, listen to me. Drive down the street, just around the block. Park on the curb. I’ll sneak out the back door and meet you there. Okay?” Woojin could tell Can was trying to keep calm, but his voice was shaking ever so slightly. 

“Okay,” he whispered. And he did. He turned the car back on, flinching at the noise.

Woojin didn’t turn to look at the house again until he had gotten back onto the road and started to slowly drive away. When he did, he immediately regretted it. The man, no, the _thing_ , was no longer looking at the house. Instead, it’s head turned to follow the car. But, as if that wasn't terrifying enough, the thing’s mouth was curled into a smile that extended up way further than was humanly possible, sharp, jagged teeth on full display. Woojin wanted to vomit. 

When Woojin made it around the block and parked on the curb, he felt like he wasn’t far enough away. He was breathing heavily and sweating. He looked over to see Jeongin staring at him with eyes filled with horror. 

“Woojin what _was_ that?”

“I don’t know, but that was no person. That was something much more sinister.” 

Woojin could see Jeongin swallow hard. “Do you think it knows where we are?”

Woojin wished Jeongin had never asked that question. He felt his skin crawl at the mere thought. “I hope not.”

Woojin didn’t know how he didn’t scream when the back door of the car was suddenly opening. Jeongin gasped in fear, but Chan was quick to reassure them. 

“It’s just me,” the werewolf assured. 

Woojin breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you are okay.”

“Yeah,” Chan breathed. “But I don’t want to stay here with that thing so close.”

“Let’s go to Hyunjin’s. I’m sure he won’t mind us being a little early if this is the occasion,” Woojin suggested. No one had any arguments to that. 

_*Hyunjin*_

Hyunjin was certainly not suffering having Seungmin in his house like this. Nope. Not at all. He knew that there were still things the other boy didn’t remember, but Hyunjin did and it was tormenting him endlessly. He wondered so terribly just what Seungmin remembered and what was still buried deep inside of his memories. He wished he knew what of _Hyunjin_ he remembered. 

Hyunjin was sure to leave Seungmin’s medication with him so that he could take it when he woke up. He couldn’t get over the way he had found Seungmin. The other’s usual personality was more soft and low-key. Seeing him at such an abnormally high energy, talking almost too fast for Hyunjin to understand, it almost felt like he was looking at a stranger. However, sitting in the living room as he was now, he could see that Seungmin was still the same as always. Hyunjin wondered if his magic could help any better than the pills. 

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had been sitting in up until that point. 

“Yes?” Hyunjin responded lightly, a soft smile gracing his face when he saw the younger’s eyes looking up to him expectantly. Hyunjin was standing at the counter, mixing a potion for insomnia. He used to make them for Chan back in school, but Chan had been having to make do with modern medicine since . . . well . . . Seungmin was now peeking over the back of the sofa to watch Hyunjin and the witch tried not to coo at how cute he looked. 

“Could we . . . go outside?” He seemed embarrassed to be asking, but Hyunjin didn’t know why.

“Like, for a walk?” Hyunjin questioned, slightly confused by the request. Seungmin nodded shyly ducking his head a little further behind the back of the sofa so only his eyes were peeking over. Hyunjin swore he was being this cute on purpose. He had to be. 

“It’s just . . . I haven’t been able to really go out in a long time. The asylum was helpful, really, but I do kind of miss seeing the town.”

Hyunjin smiled softly, pouring his concoction into a bottle and closing it. He set it aside and walked over to where Seungmin was sitting on the sofa. “Well?” He have Seungmin an expectant look. “Are you coming?” Seungmin’s gaze lit up and Hyunjin wanted to see him this happy all of the time. 

Hyunjin lent Seungmin a jacket and the two left his house to take a walk around town. The sky was overcast and the air was ever so chilly, but, to Hyunjin, it was perfect. The leaves on the trees were changing colors and, every once in a while, when a small gust of wind would blow through, the some leaves would be loosened from the trees and come flitting down in front of them.

Hyunjin wanted to reach out and take Seungmin’s hand, especially with how cold it seemed to be. Hyunjin was sure the temperature outside wasn’t supposed to be this chilly, but he was almost shivering. 

“It’s nice to be able to walk out here without seeing them.” Hyunjin looked over to the younger in confusion. He had been talking more to himself than to Hyunjin, but Hyunjin wasn’t about to just let that slide. 

“Them?” he questioned. He shivered, feeling particularly cold in that moment, even though he didn’t think there had been a breeze. Hyunjin enjoyed listening to the sound of their feet hitting the sidewalk, almost perfectly in sync. 

“Mmm,” Seungmin hummed, as if that answered anything. “I used to see them everywhere. I think they would follow me. But they seem to go away when I take my medicine. It’s nice.”

Hyunjin felt a chill run down his spine and he stopped walking abruptly. Seungmin slowed to a stop as well and looked to him in confusion. “Seungmin,” Hyunjin began carefully. He could see his breath in front of him when he spoke. Somehow he felt colder. “Who are ‘they?’” Seungmin bit his lip and stared at the ground. “Minnie.”

“I don’t really know,” Seungmin admitted, finally looking up to meet Hyunjin’s eyes. “Before I went to the asylum, they have always been there. For as long as I can remember. They try to talk to be sometimes, but I don’t usually understand them. But nothing is worse than when they touch me.” Seungmin shivered and wrapped his arms around his body. Hyunjin wanted to reach out to comfort him, but he found himself frozen.

He knew Seungmin had always been hiding something from him. Hyunjin only wished that it had not taken him so long to finally tell him what. Seungmin was a medium. This explained the way he always seemed to stare at things that weren’t there; why he seemed scared so often. This explained why it was so cold. 

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin said, voice dead steady. Hyunjin hated the fear in Seungmin’s eyes. He never wanted to scare him. He tried to soften his voice. “You can’t take that medicine anymore.”

The panic was immediate. “What? No! I need it!” Seungmin’s eyes were wide. “You already took me out of the psychiatric hospital, you can’t take these from me too.”

“I will mix something up for you,” Hyunjin promised desperately. But you can’t take those anymore.”

“ _Hyunjin_ ,” Seungmin pleaded and Hyunjin wanted so badly to give in. 

“Seungmin, don’t you feel cold when you take them?”

“I’m always cold . . .” He sounded so dejected and it was tearing Hyunjin’s heart in half. 

“ _More_ ,” Hyunjin insisted. 

“The doctors said it is probably a side effect of the medication.”

“Side effect,” Hyunjin breathed incredulously. “No, it makes _them_ angry. Seungmin, you are their only connection to this world and you are cutting them off.”

“I— What?” Seungmin was shaking and Hyunjin could tell that it was from more than the cold. His eyes were wide in fear. 

“We need to get back to the house,” Hyunjin asserted suddenly. He looked around. There was no one else on the streets. He suddenly didn’t feel safe. This time, he really did take Seungmin’s hand. 

“Okay,” the other whispered, allowing himself to be dragged along. 

They sped-walk, borderline ran back to Hyunjin’s house only to stop just short. Hyunjin’s heart nearly stopped at the sight of a car parked in front of his house. He pulled Seungmin closer. It took him a moment longer to see the people at his door. His fear spiked for a moment before he finally recognized who it was.

Hyunjin pulled Seungmin to the door to meet Jeongjin, Chan, and Woojin. Hyunjin only had to see the looks on their faces to know that they all needed to get inside. Now. 

_*Jisung*_

“I’m _tired_ ,” Jisung complained.

“Well then,” Minho replied. “Let’s not go.” Minho knew that there was no substance behind Jisung’s complaining and was calling him out. Jisung didn’t appreciate it.

Jisung groaned. “ _No_. We have to go. Especially after last night.” He shivered at the memory and he caught Minho doing the same. 

“I had only ever heard of ferals,” Minho admitted. “I didn’t think they even really existed.”

“Me neither,” Jisung breathed. He yawned again, unable to hold it back. 

“Will you stop,” Minho complained. “This is like the hundredth time.” Minho and Jisung were walking to Hyunjin’s house. It was late in the day, but the sun was still up so Jisung was feeling fatigued. They lived in a more densely populated part of the town, if that even existed, but Hyunjin’s house wasn’t all to far away. Besides, they knew that it would be dark by the time they left and they could fly home if they needed to. 

“Stop _what_? Yawning? I can’t help it!”

“You’re making me more tired. No one wants that.”

Jisung fixed him with a stare that he knew the other could see, even if he didn’t look over. “Yeah. I know.” Minho glared at him and Jisung laughed.

When the house was in sight, Jisung noticed a figure standing near it. They aren’t in front of the house, per se, but they were scarily close and they seemed to be staring at it. In fact, they seemed to be just outside of the property line for the house; it was strangely precise. Jisung slowed his walking as they got closer, off put by whoever was standing there. They were facing away, so Jisung couldn’t see who it was, but surely it couldn’t be one of their friends or they would have been in the house by now.

“Do you see them too?” Minho whispered under his breath. Jisung could tell he hadn’t taken his eyes off of the figure either. Jisung nodded, even though he knew the other wasn’t looking. 

Suddenly, whoever was standing by the house turned towards them and then took off running. They were gone in seconds and, if Minho hadn't asked about them as well, Jisung would have thought he imagined the whole thing. It was like spotting a wild animal and watching them dart away when they realized they were being watched. Jisung and Minho shared a look.

“I think we need to get inside,” Jisung said, laughing awkwardly, like that didn’t just terrify him. “Now.”

That was all it took for the two to rush into the house. They didn’t even bother to knock, which is why several of their friends shouted in surprise as the door flung open. Jisung made sure it closed behind them and locked it. Looking around, it appeared they were the last ones to arrive. Everyone else was seated in the living room as they had been last time. This time, however, everyone seemed to be crushed much closer together.

Honestly, stepping into this house almost made all of Jisung’s worries go away. He knew that he hadn’t seen these people in ages, but it felt like they had never been apart. Being here with them all again, it felt like coming home. Jisung almost forgot what they had just seen and what had happened last night. Almost. 

“Gee, I’m so glad you knocked,” Hyunjin chimed, fixing the pair with a judgemental look. “I almost had a heart attack.”

“There was someone outside.” It wasn’t really an apology but Jisung wouldn’t have said anything different than Minho. 

“Excuse me?” Hyunjin replied. 

“There was someone standing on the street, just . . . staring at the house,” Jisung explained. “They ran when we got close.”

Hyunjin ran a hand through his hair and sighed, exasperated. “This is all too much. I never thought . . .”

Jisung looked around at his friends. Some of them seemed scared, but none of them seemed particularly surprised. What was going on here? Almost as if he could read his mind, Hyunjin suddenly spoke again. 

“You aren’t the only one who saw something. Chan, Woojin, and Jeongin came here after they saw something outside of their house. Changbin and Felix just got here a moment ago, but I can tell something is wrong because Felix was shaking like a leaf when they got here.”

Minho shook his head. “Hyunjin, that’s not all."

“Fantastic,” the witch sighed. “Please enlighten me.”

“You know those murders?” Minho continued. 

“That is a terrible way to begin anything,” Chan commented and Jisung almost laughed. 

“Oh no,” Hyunjin breathed. 

“Jisung and I took Changbin out last night and we ran into something. The thing that has been murdering those people. It’s a feral.” Hyunjin’s eyes widened. 

“What’s a feral?” Chan questioned. 

“It’s a vampire that has lost all of their humanity. All they care about is feeding. They are nothing more than monsters. Starving monsters,” Hyunjin explained in horror. 

Jeongin gasped. “So is that what . . . ?” He didn’t finish his sentence and Jisung was left wondering. 

“That thing that tried to get you . . .” Woojin continued for him. “But if you are a fairy, why would it want your blood?”

“Yeah,” Jisung wondered aloud. “Unlike some of you, Jeongin smells like nothing. It’s almost like he’s another vampire.”

“Do you think a feral cares? They see something moving and it’s as good as dead. If it is a human, it’s food. If it’s another vampire, they are eliminating competition. Or, in Jeongin’s case, if it’s a fairy, the blood is almost intoxicating.” Hyujin’s explanation was surprising. 

“Why do you know all of this?” Minho questioned.

“I grew up in a family full of witches. I had to spend a lot of time studying the supernatural.”

“What are we going to do about the feral?” Seungmin questioned. 

“ _We_ aren’t going to do anything. We can’t. It’s not safe,” Hyunjin responded.

“So what, we are just going to let it keep killing people?” Changbin asked, incredulous. Surely some of us are capable of stopping that thing, no matter how terrifying it is.”

“No!” Hyunjin’s words were sharp and Jisung jumped. He didn’t think he had ever heard Hyunjin raise his voice like that. “No one is going to try and stop it. Even if that was our only threat, it’s too risky. But it isn’t. There is something much more sinister going on.” He looked specifically to Changbin and Felix where they sat close to one another on the sofa. “There is something you haven’t told me. You two came in here looking just as shaken as everyone else.”

“There was something . . .” Changbin had to take a deep breath before continuing. “There was something that tried to pull Felix out of bed in the middle of the night.” Felix had his eyes trained on the ground, but Jisung could see him lean into Changbin. 

“Something did what now?” Jisung questioned. 

“When I was sleeping,” Felix began shakily. “Something threw off my blankets and tried to pull me out of bed.” Jisung felt bad that he had to relive the memory. That was some top tier horror movie stuff to be dealing with. 

“What did it look like?” Hyunjin asked.

Felix shook his head, swallowing hard. Jisung saw Changbin slip his arm around him. “Nothing. There was nothing there.” Jisung shivered. 

“Felix . . .” There was an emotion in Seungmin’s voice that Jisung could not identify. He was very clearly effected by what Felix had just said. 

Hyunjin’s eyes suddenly widened. “Felix, I am so sorry! I forgot to send your anxiety medicine with you.” Jisung could see that Felix was shaking, head still lowered. His breathing was sharp and it seemed like he was on the verge of tears. 

“No . . . I . . .” Felix tried to speak, but it seemed as if he couldn’t get the words out.

Changbin turned and wrapped his arms around Felix in a hug. The younger was still visibly trembling and gasping for breath like it was escaping him. Hyunjin ran to the kitchen and came back with a pill bottle. He tried to hand it to Felix, but the younger pulled himself away from Changbin and shook his head.

“No,” he forced out. He took a few deep breaths and seemed to steady himself. “I have been trying not to take it. I want to find better ways to deal with my anxiety.”

Hyujin knit his eyebrows together, but it was Chan who spoke up. “Felix . . .” The concern in his voice was evident. 

“No,” Felix insisted. 

Hyunjin sighed and set the bottle down of the coffee table before sitting back down beside Seungmin. “You all know that it isn’t safe outside now, right?”

They all looked around at each other, not quite understanding where Hyunjin was going with this. “What do you mean?” Chan inquired for them all. 

Hyunjin sighed for the millionth time. “I can’t avoid it forever. Something is after you. All of you.”

“Excuse me,” Minho responded, emotionless. 

“There is something happening here. Spirits are drawn to this town every Halloween, but it has never been like this. There is something out there now. Something different.” Jisung didn’t like the way Hyunjin said that.

“And what does that have to do with us?” Woojin questioned.

Hyunjin shook his head. “I wish I knew for sure, but I don’t. All I know is that they seem to be drawn to all of us. It started to get really bad when we were in school. Everything seemed to go away when we were apart, but now . . .”

“So . . . what does this mean? If we aren’t safe, what are we supposed to do?” Jisung was getting scared and he just wanted to be told what to do to keep whatever demons these were away. 

“You stay here,” Hyunjin answered. 

“I’m sorry,” Changbin chimed in. “But how does that help?”

“I have wards up around my house. I add to them every year so I am positive nothing can get through. You are safe if you stay here.”

“Is that why whoever, or whatever, we saw was standing so far away from your house?” Jisung asked in awe. Hyunjin nodded.

“I thought you didn’t have enough room for everyone?” Jeongin pointed out. 

“I started working on some doorways when Chan, Woojin, and Jeongin got here. I managed to get one open, but that’s all for now. I can stay up tonight to open more, but you will have to make do for the time being.”

“What do you mean by doorways?” Jisung was glad Felix asked, because he was really confused as well.

Hyunjin hummed in thought. “It’s a bit difficult to explain, but, basically, they are literal doors, but they lead to rooms or places that aren’t actually in my house. Like portals. There are a bunch of just bedrooms that can be used, but they take a while to open since most are spread around the world.”

“If the situation wasn’t so serious, I would be really, really excited about all of this cool magic,” Felix said with a smile. 

“We still have groceries in the car,” Jeongin announced. “Can we at least go and get those?”

Woojin’s eyes widened. “I totally forgot! So much of that has to be bad.”

Chan waved a hand in the air dismissively. “It’s cold outside. The food will be fine.”

“That should be okay. Since it’s not too far away. I’ll help,” Hyunjin offered. He, Chan, Woojin, and Jeongin rose to get the groceries. 

Jisung finally flopped himself down onto the now vacant sofa. “So,” he said with a smile. “We are going to be stuck together for who knows how long. I hope you are all willing to entertain me.” Everyone collectively groaned. 

_*Chan*_

It has been a couple of days and Chan had to admit that he was really beginning to settle in. Even thought the house was Hyunjin’s, it already felt like it belonged to all of them. Hyunjin lost several closets to rooms for everyone, but it was better than the first night when most of them had to cram into the living room. Chan shared a room with Woojin, naturally. Minho and Jisung had a room to share as well, though theirs had two beds. They were not happy about it at first, but their complaining got them nowhere. Felix and Changbin were also staying in a two bed room as Felix was too scared to sleep on his own after what happened at Changbin’s house, even if Hyunjin assured him he was safe. Honestly, Chan would have felt the same. Seungmin and Jeongin actually got their own rooms, Seungmin’s being the guest room he had stayed in the first night. 

Chan was happy to stay there until they figured something out, but there was an issue that had been quickly closing in on him: the full moon. Hyunjin had, in a way, let Chan take over his house. He often cleaned and took care of the others, though they took turns cooking for those who actually ate. However, the closer it got to the full moon, the more on edge Chan seemed to become. Chan knew that the vampires were getting hungry as well and he couldn’t help feeling that the humans in the house were in danger. He knew that Minho, Jisung, and Changbin would never intentionally hurt anyone, but his brain didn’t think rationally when it got close to this time. 

Chan was sitting at the kitchen bar in the living room sub-kitchen, arm around Woojin who was sitting next to him. Hyunjin was mixing a potion on the other side of the counter, squinting at the contents as he added a drop of who knows what. Chan was somewhat getting used to seeing the witch float things down from the cabinet without being anywhere near them. He stirred the purple elixir before stepping back with a smile. 

“Alright, Seungmin. This should last the next few days,” Hyunjin said with a smile. Seungmin stood from the sofa to retrieve the bottle, taking a small swig. He stuck his tongue out. 

“Can’t you make it taste any better?” Seungmin complained. 

Hyunjin’s smile turned sympathetic. “Sorry.”

Hyunjin decided he didn’t like Seungmin taking his medication from the psychiatric ward and mixed him up something himself. It seemed to work well enough. Seungmin seemed a little more lethargic when he was on the medication, but he seemed to get worked up somewhat easily when he only took the potion. Hyunjin also insisted on taking Seungmin out for walks during the day despite everything he said about it being dangerous outside. When questioned, he simply promised that it was necessary. On the other hand, Felix seemed to be calmer the longer he stayed here. Chan knew that he was still trying to stay away from his medication so it relaxed him to see that Felix seemed much happier than when Chan had first seen him here. 

“Alright, Hyunjin,” Jisung announced, making his presence clear. He looked tired since it was early in the morning. Chan wondered what he was doing awake. Usually, the vampires slept through the last half of the night and the first half of the day. “We are hungry. We need to go out.”

“It’s too dangerous to hunt,” Chan insisted. “You are the ones who saw the feral.”

“Relax, we will just go back and get the blood bags from our place. They are supposed to be for emergencies, but I think this qualifies,” Minho defended. 

Hyunjin and Chan sighed simultaneously. “You can fly back tonight. But please be careful. And don’t be gone long.” Jisung gave a thumbs up before the two walked away.

Seungmin had gone back to sit on the couch beside Felix and Jeongin who were playing games on the television. The other three were silent for a moment before Woojin spoke.

“Tonight is a full moon.”

Chan bristled at the words. He knew this well, but he still hated hearing it, knowing what it meant. Woojin grabbed his hand that was wrapped around him for comfort. 

Hyunjin frowned. “There is nothing that can be done to stop that, I suppose.” Chan shook his head. 

“I hate that it happens, but I will be okay. I don’t usually remember anything from when am . . . like that . . . but I think I can protect myself.” Chan hated talking about it. He hated thinking about what he was. He understood how Changbin felt. He had tried to stop himself from going out so many times. 

Woojin nodded. “I don’t think he will be in any real danger. But . . . I think we need to go back to our house.”

Hyunjin was visibly alarmed. “Why?”

“Chan always returns home, almost as if on instinct. I don’t know if he will be able to find his way back here if he runs off. And I don’t want him to wake up at home alone.” Chan felt his heart squeeze at his boyfriend’s words. He leaned into him and took a deep breath. He was right. He always woke up at home. “I also don’t want him to break a window. I should be there to let him in.” Woojin smiled with the addition and Chan snorted as well. 

Hyunjin seemed to be deep in thought. Chan wasn’t sure how he seemed to be ignoring the yelling happening just a couple feet away as Felix defeated Jeongin in whatever game they were playing. Hyunjin let out a breath. “Okay.” Both Woojin and Chan looked at him in confusion. “Okay, you can both go back.” Chan didn’t know if he should feel relieved or terrified, but he was both. “But,” Hyunjin was quick to add. “You need to be back here as soon as possible tomorrow. And you have to let me come with you today so I can set up some temporary wards. They won’t last more than a day and if they are broken I won’t be around to fix them. Deal?”

“Deal,” Chan and Woojin answered simultaneously. 

Chan sat, watching the clock in his house, Woojin lying on the bed beside him. Hyunjin had just left after he finished setting up the wards he promised. The sun had begun to set and Chan knew his time was limited. He breathed a sigh, feeling the pull of the night already. He set a hand on Woojin’s arm to let him know he was getting up before heading to the bathroom. 

Chan stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He almost felt like he didn’t recognise himself. There was a ferocious look in his eyes that made him shiver. He could see one of the scars on his chest just barely visible above his shirt. He pressed his fingers to the spot, heart aching at the painful memory. Chan sighed and heaved his shirt over his head. He looked back to the mirror, fighting the urge to avert his eyes. He hated what he saw. 

The scars on his chest were always worse than he remembered and yet, at the same time, never looked as terrible as he felt they should. He wasn’t always a werewolf. It wasn’t something he grew into like Jeongin. No, it was something he had to survive. Chan looked at the large, glaring scars that stretched across his torso. He moved one shoulder to peek over it, a glance at a similar sight on his back. Chan hated the scars. They reminded him of how stupid he had been going out alone at night. They reminded him of what a monster he had become. He didn’t know what he did, who he hurt when he turned. He wasn’t safe anymore.

Chan sighed and caught his eyes in the mirror; they flickered gold and he knew he was almost out of time. He could smell the night. He knew it didn’t make sense, but it was calling him and he couldn’t resist for much longer. Chan pressed a hand over one of the largest scars on his chest. Ugly. He often wondered why Woojin chose to stay with him even when he was like this. The scars marking his body were far from appealing and they were a sign of something much more dangerous. Chan knew that he would never hurt Woojin—on the contrary, he grew more protective of him when a full moon approached—but he didn’t understand how Woojin was okay with this. Chan stepped away from the mirror, feeling the wild in him begin to take over. He was a monster. 

The next thing Chan knew, he was curled up on the livingroom floor, Woojin standing over him. He gasped as he was overcome with an overwhelming cold sensation; he was freezing. He shivered violently and wrapped his arms around himself, no longer warmed by a thick coat of fur. He knew Woojin had to have let him back in and he could never be more grateful to have him. He was now kneeling beside Chan, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.

“Cold?” he asked with a sweet smile.

“Freezing,” Chan laughed, teeth chattering. It was cold outside during the day, but the temperature dropped even further at night and Chan was not wearing a shirt. He clutched the blanket tight and allowed Woojin to help him stand. “Thank you.”

“Come on,” Woojin prompted warmly. “Our room is warmer.”

Chan allowed himself to be led into the bedroom. He sat on the bed solemnly. Woojin sat beside him, staying close. Chan kept his eyes trained downwards and let the blanket slide off of him. It was clear Woojin could tell something was wrong. 

“Are you okay?” Woojin questioned.

Chan looked over to Woojin timidly. He felt sad and he wasn’t entirely sure of the reason. He shook his head slightly and Woojin pulled him into a hug. After a minute, he finally spoke.

“Why?”

Woojin pulled back and gave Chan a questioning look. “Why what?”

“Why are you still with me?”

Woojin’s face contorted in surprise. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Chan was silent for a moment, not making eye contact. “Because I’m like this. Because of all of these ugly scars. Because I am a _werewolf_. Because am dangerous. Because I’m a monster.”

Chan was surprised when he felt a hand under his chin, guiding his gaze upwards. He was forced to look directly into Woojin’s eyes. “Hey,” the other said softly. “You are not a monster.”

Chan tried to look away again. “I am literally a werewolf. Who knows what terrible things I do at night.”

“Look at me,” Woojin whispered. It was soft, not forceful, but Chan still looked. “That isn’t your fault. None of this is. You are still Chan. These scars only show that you are still here. You have been through a lot, but you are still here with me.” Woojin reached out to place the palm of his hand on Chan’s chest on top of one of his most prominent scars. Chan could feel the tears rising. “You are still the same Chan I fell in love with. The same Chan I fall in love with over and over again, every day.” Chan knew he was crying, but he couldn’t stop the tears. 

Chan leaned forward and pressed his lips to Woojin’s, hands coming up to his face. Woojin wrapped his arms around him and Chan reveled in the warmth on his still cold skin. He knew the kiss couldn’t be very good, what with him crying, but it meant so much to him. 

“I love you.” Chan’s voice was soft, and he almost choked out the words. There was so much emotion behind them that Chan was struggling to express. He really did love Woojin so much and he didn’t know what he ever did to deserve him. 

Woojin’s smile was sunshine at night. The opposite of the full moon that compelled him to become something he never wanted to be. Woojin was what made him himself, what made him happy. He could feel the older tracing one of the scars on his back and he shivered. 

“I love you too,” Woojin whispered before leaning back in to reconnect their lips. 

Chan may hate what he had become, but he knew that Woojin would always be there for him. He never wanted to let him go. He wanted to stay like this forever. Even with all of the chaos that had filled their lives recently, Chan found himself peaceful in this moment. He was happy. 

_*Minho*_

Minho stretched his arms over his head as he and Jisung walked up to the front door of their house. “It’s so good to be out at night again.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Jisung replied. “We are just here to grab some blood bags and then fly back.”

Minho pouted. “Are you sure we can’t hunt. It’s so much better and I don’t want to waste these blood bags.”

Jisung paused before opening their door. “It’s not safe and you know it.”

“You want to hunt as bad as I do. We are both starving.” Minho could smell that there were people nearby and he knew that Jisung could too. The idea of a fresh meal after all of this time without anything was tantalizing. 

Jisung hesitated and Minho could taste the victory. “But we still need something for Changbin. Being in that house with Felix is torture and we have been vampires for much longer than him. We have more control.”

“I don’t know,” Minho replied, thinking back. “Changbin managed to stop himself from eating at all for a long time after he was turned.”

“But he didn’t have someone that smelled as delicious as Felix there to tempt him.”

“Alright. We should go in and grab some blood bags. But there is nothing stopping us from grabbing a quick bite from someone out here before we leave,” Minho persisted.

Jisung fixed Minho with a stare and Minho felt like hours went by before the other finally sighed. “Okay.” Minho smiled. 

And that is exactly what they did. The two grabbed some of their blood bag stash from inside of their house and then stole a bite from an unsuspecting couple walking out of a late-night diner. This time, there was no feral to run from, thankfully. They only drank a little so the two walked away almost unharmed afterwards; they wouldn’t remember a thing anyways. Minho felt in his coat pockets to make sure the blood bags he was carrying were still there.

“Wasn’t that worth it?” Minho smiled and looked over to Minho, who was wiping the blood from his mouth. Jisung met his eyes, hand still at his mouth, eyes fading from a red back to their usual deep brown. Minho was breathless over how gorgeous he looked at night. The fresh blood he now had in his system made him seem so much more alive.

“Shut up,” Jisung whispered with a slight laugh, walking towards Minho. Minho hadn’t been able to look away, too captivated by the sight. A feeling welled up inside of him that he did not know how to name. “What are you staring at?” 

“Nothing,” Minho scoffed. “You always eat so messily. You literally smeared blood on your chin. Come here.”

Jisung’s eyes widened in embarrassment. He reached up to try and scrub the blood off, only succeeding in making it worse. Minho shook his head at him and Jisung gave up, stepping close to let him help. Minho reached up to wipe the blood off of Jisung’s chin, but it didn’t come off. Minho made the split-second decision to use his spit to wipe off the stain. He expected Jisung to yell at him, tell him it was disgusting. Honestly, Minho felt like it was a strange thing to do, but Jisung just stood there and let him do it. 

Neither one of the spoke a word when Minho lowered his hand. Neither one moved. They were still standing close, but neither one of them stepped away. Minho’s eyes traced Jisung’s face, taking it in. He was much more attractive than Minho had ever let himself realize before. He met Jisung’s eyes and almost gasped at the intensity of the other’s gaze. The moment felt charged. He felt like he was searching, but he didn’t know what for. 

Minho was the first to break eye contact, eyes trailing down to Jisung’s lips. Minho didn’t know what he was doing. He had no real conscience of what was going on; his body was simply moving on its own. He leaned forward slightly, testing. He heard Jisung suck in a breath, but he didn’t move away. Minho brought his hands up to Jisung’s neck, slowly, carefully. His eyes flicked back up to Jisung’s. They were impossibly close. Jisung’s lips were parted ever so slightly and Minho couldn’t take it anymore. He closed his eyes and leaned in even further, but he hesitated. Their lips were so close Minho wasn’t sure how they weren’t touching.

Minho was surprised when Jisung leaned in the rest of the way and closed the infinitesimal distance, finally connecting their lips. Minho hummed against the other’s lips before kissing back. The kiss was brief, but the sound it made with the two separated was intoxicating. Minho’s eyes fluttered open slightly to look at Jisung’s face. It was flushed, something that was only possible because they had just fed. Jisung met his gaze and Minho’s heart ached in a delightful way. He closed his eyes and reconnected their lips. He felt Jisung smile against him and couldn’t help a slight smile from playing on his lips for a moment as well. 

Minho didn’t know what demon overtook him, but he didn’t want it to stop. He was kissing Jisung like he was going to disappear beneath him. Their lips parted and reconnected over and over, the sounds echoing into the empty alley around them. Jisung wrapped his arms around Minho’s waist, pulling him closer. Minho found his hands creeping up into Jisung’s hair as he slowly walked back into a wall for support. 

Minho couldn’t hardly process what was happening. This was Jisung, his best friend, his housemate. This was Han Jisung, the boy he had unwittingly been in love with since high school. Minho didn’t have a name for the emotion he always felt in the pit of his stomach when he was with Jisung. Whenever Jisung smiled or laughed. When he teased Minho, gave him attention. He was kissing Jisung. Jisung was kissing him. Minho felt like he was dreaming. 

Jisung trailed his kisses down to Minho’s neck and Minho panted, catching his breath only to have it stolen away again with the feeling of Jisung’s lips on his throat. Minho’s hands moved to clutch at Jisung’s shoulders. For a moment, he thought about how it was almost like Jisung was going to suck his blood, the only issue being that he was also a vampire. Minho must have unconsciously giggled at the thought because Jisung pulled away with a pout. Minho immediately missed the sensation.

“What’s so funny?” Minho fought the urge to coo at just how _cute_ Jisung was as he pouted; he knew it would only make him more upset. 

“Nothing,” Minho whispered with a smile. His hands made their way up to the nape of Jisung’s neck to play with his hair. 

“Good,” Jisung pouted. “Because I don’t want to stop kissing you.” His words set off butterflies in Minho’s stomach, but he didn’t have much time to be surprised before Jisung was kissing him again. 

Minho lost track of time as they kissed in the alleyway. There was a voice in the back of his mind reminding him that they needed to get back to Hyunjin’s house, but he didn’t want to listen; he wasn’t ready to stop this yet. 

Minho screamed and jumped away from Jisung when he felt something brush against his leg. He wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when he looked down, but what he didn’t expect to see was the calico cat that was staring up at him. Minho gasped in pure delight. 

“Kitty!”

Minho looked up to Jisung to see the other looking surprised and annoyed. “A cat?”

Minho leaned down to stroke the cat as it rubbed against his legs. “Where did you come from?” he asked the cat like only a true animal lover would. 

“It’s not going to answer you,” Jisung argued, folding his arms. 

“You’re just jealous you don’t have all of my attention anymore,” Minho retorted, scratching the cat’s head adoringly. 

“Well yeah!” Minho was surprised at Jisung’s blunt answer. “I have to work hard to get your attention and this little creature can just come strolling out of nowhere and you are all over it.” Minho could tell Jisung wasn’t being entirely serious, but he could also tell that he was pretty miffed to have Minho abandon him so readily like he had. 

Minho walked over to Jisung, cat trailing close behind him, and planted a kiss on his cheek. “There,” he said with a smile. “Better n—” Minho was cut off as Jisung kissed him on the mouth. Minho kissed back, hands coming up to the other’s face, before Jisung pulled away. 

“Jisung . . .” Minho breathed. He just noticed how disheveled the other looked and knew it was because of their impromptu makeout session. His stomach stirred at the sight of his mussed hair and his kiss-swollen lips. 

That was when he heard it. It was a deep, inhuman snarl. Minho and Jisung shared a look of equal terror. The feral. 

“Minho, we need to fly back. Now.”

Minho nodded and was ready to transform when he felt the cat brush against his leg again. He froze. He couldn’t leave the cat behind. He grabbed Jisung’s sleeve and the other looked to him in confusion. 

“Minho, what are you doing,” Jisung whispered in fear. “We need to go.” Minho shook his head and looked down to the cat. Jisung followed his gaze. “No.” He looked back up to Minho. “No, we can’t take it with us. We can’t carry it as bats.”

“Jisung I am not leaving this cat behind. That thing will kill it.”

Jisung but his lip, conflicted. Suddenly, a shadow fell over the alleyway. Minho looked over to see a large shadow-like figure blocking one end of the alley. Minho felt his heart sink in fear. 

Minho scooped up the cat in his arms, made eye contact with Jisung to make sure he knew what they were going to have to do, and ran. 

_*Felix*_

When Felix woke up, he felt calm. Somehow, this startled him more the usual crippling anxiety that surprised him when he opened his eyes. It took a him a moment to realize that it was not morning yet. It was only after he sat up, stretching and waking up the person sleeping next to him, that he saw it was still very much dark outside. Changbin sat up beside him, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Are you okay?”

Felix nodded. “I don’t know why I woke up . . .” Changbin looked at him with a frown, but the unasked question was soon answered as they heard someone shouting from somewhere else in the house. 

“Why did you need to take that stupid thing with us!?”

Felix and Changbin shared a look; it sounded like Minho and Jisung were back. The two wordlessly made their way into the livingroom to see Minho and Jisung arguing fervently while Hyunjin looked out the window worriedly. Felix managed to make out a lump in Minho’s arms and assumed it was what the two were fighting about.

“I wasn’t about to leave it behind! I’m no monster!” Minho defended. 

“No, but the actual monster followed us back here because we couldn’t just fly away! We barely outran that thing.”

“Hyunjin has wards.” Minho pointed out.

“That fact that he looks concerned is not comforting,” Jisung objected. 

The lump in Minho’s arms squirmed and Felix realized that it was alive.

“A cat!” Felix ran over to Minho to get a better look at the cat curled up in Minho’s arms. 

“This cat almost got us killed!” Jisung shouted. “Maybe you would like to look outside and see what followed us here.”

Actually, Felix didn’t think he would like that. If it was something that could have killed them, he didn’t want to see it. However, his curiosity eventually got the best of him and he wandered over to the window, closely followed by Changbin. Tentatively, Felix moved the curtain to the side and gazed out the window into the night.

Felix’s entire body seized up when his eyes landed on the dark figure illuminated by both the bright light of the full moon and the few and far between street lights. The figure had such a vague resemblance of a human silhouette, but was very clearly something monstrous. It was like a shadow, but blurred around the edges. Glaring, red eyes bore into him as the _thing_ stood on the street in front of the house. Changbin reached over and closed the curtain for him.

Felix finally remembered how to move, turning to Changbin in terror. “What _is_ that thing?”

Seungmin and Jeongin chose this moment to wander into the living room looking tired and confused. “What is what? Why are you yelling?” Seungmin rubbed his eyes, complaining. 

“ _That’s_ a _feral_ ,” Hyunjin replied, turning around.

“That thing followed us all the way here because _this_ idiot decided he couldn’t leave the cat behind,” Jisung glared at Minho who had set the cat on the ground and was scratching behind its ears. Minho didn’t even bother to defend himself. 

“It’s outside? Are we safe?” Jeongin asked worriedly. 

Hyunjin nodded. “The wards I have up are strong and it can’t stay out in the morning, but now it knows where you are. I hope you got blood because you really won’t be able to leave again until we deal with that thing.”

Minho and Jisung both winced. For a moment, Felix thought they hadn’t managed to get blood and felt a spike of fear shoot through him—if there was no other source of blood, he knew he was in danger, even if the others didn’t want to hurt him—but the two pulled several packs of blood out of their jackets. Felix wrinkled his nose in disgust, but he saw Changbin move out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see the other tense, eyes fixed on the blood. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and Felix knew he was hungry.

Minho caught Changbin’s eye and tossed him one of the blood bags. Changbin brought it to his mouth swiftly before stopping suddenly to look up. He looked between everyone else in the room, eyes landing on Felix before lowering in embarrassment. “I’ll take this to our room. Just . . . give me a few minutes.” With that, he retreated from the room, clutching the blood close. 

Felix watched him leave with a frown. His eyes remained on the hallway even after Changbin had turned the corner. His attention was only averted when he felt something brush against his leg. He looked down and the cat meowed happily up at him. A smile crept onto his face and he crouched down to pet the cute creature. 

“At least we know Chan won’t have to deal with the monster,” Seungmin reasoned. Hyunjin nodded, comforted, even if only slightly. 

Everyone slowly retreated back to their rooms, leaving Felix in the livingroom alone. Minho had scooped up the cat to take with him, much to Jisung’s annoyance, and Felix couldn’t help but to notice something strange between the two of them. The arguing was normal, but there was something in the way that they looked at each other that felt different. 

Felix gave himself a little longer, hesitating, before heading back to his room. He didn’t want to interrupt Changbin if he didn’t want Felix to see. Felix opened their bedroom door tentatively to see Changbin scrubbing at his face with his hand to remove the blood on his lips. He looked up at the sound of the door and met Felix’s eyes. 

Changbin flushed with color and Felix was surprised. He had been nothing other than the same consistent pale shade even since Felix had seen him here, since he had become a vampire. His eyes landed on the blood smeared on his face and he realized what was giving him this color. Changbin looked terrified. Felix raised his arms up in front of him. 

“It’s okay,” he breathed, unable to look away. 

Changbin sank down to his bed in despair. “No, Felix,” He almost shouted. “No it’s not!”

Felix jumped in surprise at the anger in his voice, even if he knew it wasn’t really directed at him. “Binnie . . . It’s not your fault.”

Changbin remained silent at that, but he didn’t look up from the ground. Felix decided to sit beside him. He felt Changbin flinch and he almost got back up and left the room to leave him alone. Almost. He studied Changbin’s face as he stared intently at the ground. Felix could tell there was a deep sorrow building in the vampire and he wished he knew how to help. 

“Changbin . . .” Felix tried his name and was rewarded with the other looking up at him. Changbin bit his lip nervously and Felix could see his sharp teeth nearly breaking the skin of the bloodstained lip. Felix suddenly lost his words when Changbin’s eyes met his timidly. 

Suddenly it hit Felix how close he was. A wave of emotions rushed over him that he had been trying his best to keep at bay. The second Felix saw Changbin, he recognised him. The second he saw him, he realized what he had been missing for all of this time. He remembered everything. He remembered Changbin being the first to talk to him when he was new at school. He had done his best to make Felix comfortable and Felix knew he was gone from that moment forward. He remembered just how much he loved Changbin, and for how long. He had always kept this inside of him, even with all of the time they spent together. 

Felix knew Changbin would never hurt him. That’s why he knew he needed to go with Changbin when he had the chance. He couldn’t let the fear of Changbin being a vampire scare him away from the man he fell in love with. Changbin was still Changbin. Felix didn’t know how much Changbin could have changed in the time they were apart, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to treat Felix any differently. The way he comforted him that night; Felix was so scared, terrified, but Changbin had been there with him. 

But now it wasn’t Felix hurting, it was Changbin. He was sitting right in front of him, looking at Felix with a broken gaze. Felix would be lying if he said the thought of kissing Changbin then and there didn’t cross his mind. He stomach fluttered at the mere thought, but he decided it was far too selfish. He knew that Changbin would always be there to comfort him, but he had no idea if the other felt the same way. Felix wanted to be able to comfort Changbin like the other did for him. He wanted to see him smile. So Felix wrapped his arms around Changbin and squeezed him in a tight hug. 

“Felix?” Changbin’s voice startled Felix, but he didn’t release his grip. He had never realized it before, but it Changin was always the one to initiate contact. Felix couldn’t remember a single other occasion where he hugged Changbin and that was a crime. 

“You’re perfect,” Felix whispered. 

Felix could feel Changbin shake his head. “ _No_ . . .” Felix frowned in frustration at his words. “Felix I’m not even _human_ anymore.”

Felix pulled back but kept his hands on Changbin’s shoulders. “You don’t have to be human. Most of the people in this house aren’t human.”

“I survive by taking life from others. I’m not safe.”

Felix was getting annoyed. “It’s not like you are killing anyone. It’s not your fault that you are like this. Binnie, it’s okay. Listen,” Changbin was looking away and Felix was feeling bold. He moved one hand, placing it under his chin and using it to guide Changbin’s gaze back to him. “You’re perfect.” Changbin was clearly surprised by just how foreward Felix was being, eyes wide. 

He tried to look away again. “Lix, no . . . I’m not—”

“Shut up!” Felix surprised himself by yelling. “Please. Stop beating yourself up over this. Everyone in this house loves you for who you are. I am not going anywhere because of anything so trivial. You are still you.”

Changbin’s lips parted, shocked by the outburst. It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Felix noticed some blood still smeared on Changbin’s chin and wiped it off before continuing, much softer this time. 

“You make me happy, Binnie. I don’t want to see you sad.”

Changbin’s eyebrows knit together as he stared into Felix’s eyes. “Felix . . .”

Felix didn’t know what had come over him, but he decided he deserved to be at least a little selfish. He leaned in and gave Changbin a peck on the cheek before hopping over to his bed and burying himself in the blankets. The embarrassment caught up with him quickly. What had he been thinking? He was never this bold! He buried his face in the bed and could hear Changbin shifting behind him. Felix didn’t say a word as he felt Changbin settle into bed beside him, following their usual routine. 

“Thank you,” he heard Changbin whisper. Felix finally turned around to face the other. There was a soft smile on Changbin’s face that made Felix’s heart do flips. The smile curved up into a smirk. “But I’m supposed to be the one who takes care of you.”

Felix smiled. “I can take care of myself.” Changbin gave him a look and he laughed. “Really though,” Felix breathed, “I have been feeling so much more confident in myself recently. I don’t want to say that the anxiety is completely gone, but I just feel so safe here. I haven’t had a single attack in such a long time and I just don’t . . . feel so scared anymore.”

Changbin’s smile was warm enough to melt him. “I’m glad.” Felix closed his eyes and curled further into the blankets, a happy smile playing on his face.

_*Seungmin*_

“Do we really have to keep coming on these walks. I hate listening to these voices.”

Hyunjin smiled as they walked down the street. The sun was entirely blocked by the gray clouds. Hyunjin said it was supposed to rain, but promised to get them home before it fell. The trees were almost entirely barren of leaves as it was; any rain would knock down whatever remained. Seungmin could tell that Hyunjin loved the weather. 

“It’s better they can contact you sometimes. It keeps them peaceful. They get angry if you try to keep them away.” Seungmin sighed at Hyunjin’s words, but didn’t argue. “Besides, they can’t be saying anything _that_ bad.”

Seungmin frowned, recalling their words.. “They insult you a lot.”

Hyunjin looked over to him in obvious surprise. “They _what_?” Hyunjin laughed a little into his words. 

Seungmin didn’t know whether to smile or keep the frown. “They don’t really like you. They say a lot of really mean things about stuff you can’t control. Sometimes they just seem mad you are keeping me away, but they also insult you personally a lot.”

Hyunjin’s mouth hung open in surprise and Seungmin finally allowed himself to smile. He hated hearing all of these terrible things, but he could tell that Hyujin thought it was funny. “What do they say?”

Seungmin looked away shyly, not wanting to repeat what he heard. He didn’t believe most of what the ghosts said because it seemed obscene and ridiculous. However, sometimes they would just insult Hyunjin for being a witch, or for the way he looked. Actually, a lot of them had to do with the way he looked. Seungmin shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “I don’t think I want to repeat any of that.”

Hyunjin laughed. “That bad?” Seungmin nodded sheepishly.

They walked a little more in a comfortable silence. Seungmin shivered as one of the spirits whispered in his ear. He could almost feel its weight on his back. 

“ _Disgusting pretty boy_.”

Seungmin ignored it, laughing at a joke Hyunjin made, but they wouldn’t give up that easily. 

“ _You think we don’t know_.”

“ _We know exactly how you feel for him_.”

Seungmin sucked in a sharp breath, but did his best to continue on like nothing was happening, smiling and continuing to talk with Hyunjin. His heartbeat sped up at the idea of being so known. They couldn’t know. No one was supposed to. 

“ _He will never love you_.”

“ _He could have anyone he wants_.”

Seungmin swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes closed for a minute.

“You okay?” Hyunjin asked, concerned. 

Seungmin smiled. “Yeah.”

“ _Look at him. He’s so disgusting. He probably uses those looks to get whatever he wants_.”

“ _And a witch! Imagine! He couldn’t have any real friends with a face like that_.”

“ _Plastic_.”

“ _I bet he used that face to—_.”

“Shut up!” Seungmin had enough. “He can’t help it! Leave him alone!”

He had stopped walking and Hyunjin halted along with him, eyes wide. “Seungmin . . .”

Seungmin’s eyes widened when he realized what he had done. He looked down, embarrassed. “I think . . . I think I want to go back now.”

Hyunjin was silent and Seungmin looked up to see him looking down as well. He looked up to meet Seungmin’s eyes and Seungmin was surprised at the deep sorrow he saw behind them. He took a step closer, concerned. 

“Hyunjin . . . ?” He didn’t know what else to say. He reached a hand out as if to touch Hyunjin’s face before dropping it back down to his side. Hyunjin’s eyes followed it and Seungmin felt his face burn in embarrassment. 

Hyunjin was really pretty, it didn’t take anyone special to see that. The ghosts were terrible to use his looks against him when he couldn’t control them, but Seungmin couldn’t deny that he was gorgeous enough to really get whatever he wanted. Seungmin hated to admit it, but he was letting their words sink to heart. He really could have anyone he wanted. Seungmin tried to bury his emotions, but they had only grown stronger the more time he spent with Hyunjin. He wasn’t sure when he realized his feelings, but after he did, he couldn’t get rid of them.

But Seungmin didn’t like Hyunjin for his face. No. He liked him for every other aspect of him. Seungmin remembered that they had been close in school, even if he felt like he was missing something specific. Hyunjin always made sure Seungmin was happy, even when it seemed like an inconvenience to him. Hyunjin was willing to take everyone into his house when he knew they were in danger. He may be a little ditzy at times, but he was independent and loving. He made Seungmin feel like he was wanted and that was something he had forgotten. 

“Seungmin . . .” Hyunjin licked his lips nervously before continuing. He sounded as if he was choked up and Seungmin had no idea why. “What . . . What do you remember?”

Seungmin was even more confused now. “What do you mean . . . ?”

Hyunjin looked around nervously before meeting Seungmin’s eyes again. “Do you remember anything about . . . us?”

Seungmin shook his head, searching as deep into his memories as he could. “No . . . ?” Hyunjin sighed, sounding forlorn. “Why?” The question came out as barely more than a whisper. 

The other looked away. “It’s probably because it was right before I took all of your memories. I should have known . . .” Hyunjin was quiet for a moment before realizing what he said. He threw a hand over his mouth, meeting Seungmin’s eyes in terror, but it was too late. 

“You _what_?”

“You don’t understand . . . I had to!” Hyunjin was pleading with him and Seungmin’s head was spinning. Hyunjin did this to them? But why?

Suddenly, Seungmin remembered. 

_“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin breathed, closing his book of memories. They were in the club room, just him and Seungmin._

_“Sorry for what?” Seungmin questioned skeptically._

_“Woojin’s dream. I can’t let that happen. It will be okay. We will be okay.”_

_Hyunjin was crying and Seungmin was extremely confused and scared._

_“Hyunjin, what do you mean?”_

_Hyunjin took Seungmin’s face in his hands, startling him. “Hyunjin . . . ?” His heart was ready to beat out of his chest and he didn’t understand what was going on._

_“After today, you won’t even remember me. But I need you to know. I know it won’t matter, but I just . . . need you to know.”_

_“Need me to know what? Hyunjin you are scaring me.”_

_Hyunjin leaned in closer and Seungmin was sure the other could hear his heart racing. Hyunjin’s eyes fluttered closed and suddenly, his lips were on Seungmin's. Seungmin was still confused, but he was kissing back immediately. He had been waiting for this for longer than he even knew. They had been dancing around each other for the last few months and it felt so good to finally,_ actually _be kissing him._

_By the time they parted, both boys were breathing heavily. “Hyunjin . . .” The name felt like it had a whole new meaning._

_“I love you.”_

_Seungmin’s eyes widened at the words. “What?”_

_“Seungmin, I love you. I mean it.”_

_Seungmin’s heart stopped and he opened and closed his mouth without actually finding any words._

_“I will miss you.”_

_“Hyunjin I don’t know what you mean. What do you mean you will miss me? I’m not going anywhere.”_

_Tears were streaming down Hyunjin’s face. He shook his head. This time he didn’t say it out loud. He mouthed the words “I love you” like he couldn’t speak through his tears._

_Seungmin’s mind was trying desperately to grasp what was happening. Was this really happening? Was Hyunjin really confessing to him? Seungmin felt like he was walking on air. But what was all of this stuff about leaving? Forgetting? Seungmin got this terrible feeling that he couldn’t shake._

_“Goodbye, Seungmin.” That was all Hyunjin said before walking out of the clubroom, wiping at his tears, leaving Seungmin alone. ___

__

__Seungmin gasped and felt his throat close up. His eyes welled up with tears. Hyunjin was staring into his eyes sorrowfully._ _

__“I love you too.” It was barely a whisper; it didn’t even sound like words, but Seungmin needed to say it. He realized that, back then, he never said it back, but he meant it. He loved Hyunjin._ _

__“What?” The way Hyunjin was looking at him broke his heart. There was so much sorrow and hope in his gaze._ _

__Seungmin felt embarrassed, but he repeated himself, louder this time. “I love you too.”_ _

__Hyunjin froze. “You . . . you remember?”_ _

__Seungmin nodded, sniffling. “I didn’t realize I never said it back, but I mean it. I was in love with you then, but I think I have fallen in love with you all over again.”_ _

__Hyunjin let out a sob and wrapped his arms around Seungmin in a deathly tight hug. Seungmin melted into it. “And I never stopped loving you,” Hyunjin whispered against him. Seungmin shivered and smiled through his tears._ _

__The two jumped and let each other go when lightning cracked in the sky. Suddenly, it was pouring. The two laughed._ _

__“We should probably get back,” Seungmin suggested._ _

__Hyunjin laughed breathily. “Yeah.”_ _

__“But there’s something I want to do first.” Seungmin fought against his nerves and pecked Hyunjin on the lips._ _

__He knew he was blushing when he backed away. Hyunjin looked shocked for a moment, but a bright smile quickly spread on his face. He pulled Seungmin back in and kissed him again, for longer this time. When he pulled away, he left Seungmin with a peck on the nose and Seungmin giggled. The two smiled at each other, reveling in the warm feeling in the cold weather._ _

__Lightning struck and the world around them was temporarily lit up. Seungmin gasped. In the light, he could see what could only be hundreds of ghosts standing in a circle surrounding him and Hyunjin. However, this isn’t what frightened him the most. Usually, the ghosts talked to him individually, sometimes piggybacking off of each other’s words, but not this time. It had to be the voice of every since ghost surrounding them that added to what was said. No more than three seconds before the thunder sounded Seungmin heard on word uttered by hundreds of the dead._ _

__Seungmin swallowed hard, shaking, but it had nothing to do with the cold. “What do you mean?” he questioned shakily. “What is going on?”_ _

__“Seungmin?” Hyunjin was grabbing Seungmin’s arm before he knew what was happening. Seungmin’s head was spinning. “What’s wrong?”_ _

__Seungmin could feel his breathing quicken in fear. He finally met Hyunjin’s eyes. He was searching for answers he knew the other didn’t have. “Something’s wrong. They have never done that before. Something’s _wrong_.”_ _

__Hyunjin’s eyebrows were knit together as he grabbed Seungmin’s hands. “What is it?”_ _

__Seungmin averted his eyes. He was breathing heavily and he could see his breath in the frigid air as the rain poured down around them. “There are hundreds of them. Everywhere. And they all said _one_ thing. The _same_ thing.” He still didn’t meet the other’s eyes. _ _

__Hyunjin squeezed his hands. “What is it? What did they say?”_ _

__Seungmin finally met the other’s concerned gaze again, breathing out one word shakily._ _

__“Felix.”_ _

__

__

_*Jeongin*_

__Jeongin peered out the front window as he heard someone arrive. Seungmin and Hyunjin had just left for their daily walk and Jeongin didn’t know what he was going to do if he had visitors since this wasn’t technically his house, even if it felt like it was. However, the car he saw parked on the street was a familiar one and he found himself bouncing over to the door happily. Everyone else in the house was still asleep because, well, they were vampires—Felix kept the same sleep schedule as Changbin to make their being roomates easier._ _

__Chan didn’t even have a chance to knock before Jeongin was swinging the door open to greet him and Woojin with a bright smile. Jeongin was delighted to see the other two both in once piece. He had been worrying about them since they left, knowing what dangers awaited them outside of the house. Jeongin swooped in to wrap his arms around them both in a hug._ _

__“Woah, woah,” Woojin laughed. “We’re okay.”_ _

__Jeongin separated himself. “You can’t blame me for being worried after the things I have seen.” No one could argue with that._ _

__“Where is everyone else?” Chan questioned, looking around as Jeongin finally let them in._ _

__“Hyunjin and Seumgin went out for a walk, but I think it’s going to rain soon so I hope they are back before that. Everyone else is still asleep.”_ _

__Chan shook his head. “And I thought my sleep schedule was bad.”_ _

__“It is,” Woojin said at the same time Jeongin said, “They are vampires.”_ _

__Chan chose to ignore Woojin’s statement. “Felix isn’t.”_ _

__“He rooms with one. Also, he is probably tired after being up last night?”_ _

__Chan and Woojin shared a questioning look. “What do you mean?” the older inquired._ _

__“Well . . .” Jeongin hesitated. He didn’t want them to worry unnecessarily. Nothing bad had happened. Not really. “Minho and Jisung were followed home last night.”_ _

__“They were what?” Chan was visibly alarmed and Jeongin knew what he was about to say was not going to help._ _

__“By the feral vampire.”_ _

__Woojin and Chan looked terrified and, honestly, Jeongin understood the feeling. That monster was terrifying. Even if he knew it couldn’t get in he still felt fear coursing through him just looking at it. It looked like a living nightmare._ _

__“Also we have a cat now.”_ _

__“Well that explains how that thing followed two vampires to the house. The wards protected you, right?” Woojin asked. Jeongin nodded._ _

__Chan buried his head in his hands. “Why are they so stupid?”_ _

__“Everything went okay for you last night, right?” Jeongin was still worried about the whole werewolf thing._ _

__Chan bit his lip and quickly glanced at Woojin before replying. “Just fine.”_ _

__Jeongin sighed, missing the hidden emotion behind the words. “It must have been nice though, to actually get out. Not that I don’t like it here, but I sort of miss flying.”_ _

__Chan and Woojin shared what could only be described as a look of concern. “I’m sorry,” Chan said with a frown. “I know there isn’t much room, but you could always fly around in the house.”_ _

__Jeongin frowned, but allowed his wings to lift him off of the floor. “I guess I just miss flying out in the forest. Everything is so much more beautiful from above.”_ _

__“Hopefully we can get this all figured out soon. That way you can go home,” Woojin offered with a hopeful smile._ _

__“But . . .” Jeongin’s emotions were all over the place. “I don’t like living alone. I will miss seeing all of you every time I wake up, before I go to bed.”_ _

__“Jeongin . . .” Chan’s voice was soft and Jeongin’s heart ached._ _

__“I know it’s probably a lot to ask since you two already own a house, but . . .” Chan and Woojin looked at him expectantly. “Would you two maybe . . . possibly . . . be willing to stay with me?” There was a silence and Jeongin felt his heartbeat quicken. “It’s just that my house is really big since it was passed down from my family and it gets so lonely there and I thought it might be easier for you during the full moon. I know you only know how to get back to your house, but maybe . . . eventually—” Jeongin knew he was rambling, but he was still surprised when Chan stopped him._ _

__“Jeongin, calm down! It’s okay.” Chan looked over at Woojin who gave him a reassuring nod. “We don’t like the idea of you going back alone either. If you are sure you are okay with it, it would be lovely to live with you once all of this madness is over.”_ _

__Jeongin smiled and felt tears of relief welling in his eyes. He had been thinking about this for a long time and he didn’t know what to do now that they had agreed. Chan and Woojin wrapped him in a hug and Jeongin laughed tearily. “I love you. I love all of you. I say that I miss home, but I am also going to miss being here with everyone when this all ends.”_ _

__Chan and Woojin let him go, nodding in agreement. “It kind of feels like we are one big family,” Chan said with a laugh._ _

__“You two are definitely the parents.”_ _

__Woojin smiled. “I can see that.”_ _

__“It’s the middle of the day. We should probably go and wake the others up. They might be vampires, but I still like seeing them.” They agreed with Chan and set off to do just that. Chan and Woojin went to wake Changbin and Felix while Jeongin hunted down Jising and Minho’s room. It was still difficult for Jeongin to find the rooms because most of them looked like closets. Jeongin supposed that’s because that’s what they were actually supposed to be._ _

__Jeongin was easily reminded of the room he was looking for when he heard a light scratching coming from behind one of the doors. Jeongin opened it and their new cat slithered out, rubbing against Jeongin’s legs with a meow. Jeongin peered into the room expecting to see the two vampires asleep in their beds. Jeongin’s eyes landed on two figures sitting on one of the beds, kissing lazily. He squeaked in surprise causing his two friends to jump apart._ _

__“Jeongin!” Minho exclaimed, breathless._ _

__“I’m so sorry!” Jeongin spun around, slamming the door behind him as he darted out of the room. He scooped the cat up in his arms before running back to the living room, embarrassed._ _

__He sat on the sofa, petting the cat and trying to forget about what just happened until Chan and Woojin entered the room followed by a very sleepy Felix and Changbin._ _

__“Where are Minho and Jisung?” Woojin inquired._ _

__Jeongin felt his face heat up. “They’re busy.”_ _

__Chan squinted at Jeongin suspiciously and Jeongin was ready to break and spill everything he knew when Chan’s face suddenly lit up._ _

__“Cat!” Chan ran over to scratch behind the cat’s ears and Jeongin couldn’t help but to laugh._ _

__By the time Jisung and Minho finally made their way into the living room Chan was cradling the cat like a baby. Jeongin met their eyes, but none of them said a word about what had happened. Jisung flopped onto the couch, effectively crushing Changbin and Felix who were already sitting there. They cried in indignation trying to shove Jisung off, but he refused to budge._ _

__“Good morning,” Jisung greeted happily. “Good to see we are all still alive,” He said the last part with a look in Chan’s direction._ _

__“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” Jeongin pointed out._ _

__Jisung shrugged, a gesture that looked particularly odd given the fact that he was lying across the couch._ _

__“Does the cat have a name?” Woojin asked, lightly stroking the furry little beast in Chan’s arms. Jeongin didn’t think he had ever seen a cat that looked that happy._ _

__“Demon,” Jisung replied almost immediately._ _

__“No!” Minho shouted in protest. “She is an angel!”_ _

__“She?” Felix questioned, still trying to lift Jisung’s leg off of him._ _

__“Most calico cats are females,” Chan answered for Minho._ _

__“That thing is not an angel. It is a demon.” Minho gave Jisung a piercing look at his words. “Fine. _She_ is a demon. That cat nearly got us killed. It was pure luck that we made it back here alive.”_ _

__“Yes, luck!” Everyone looked to Minho, confused at the exclamation. “We can call her Lucky.”_ _

__Jisung groaned. “Of course that’s what you got from that.” He suddenly yelped as Felix and Changbin were finally successful of freeing themselves from under him._ _

__“I think I would like to go on a walk before it rains. I feel like I haven’t been outside in millennia,” Felix announced._ _

__“Felix,” Woojin warned. “You know it isn’t safe outside.”_ _

__Felix frowned. “Hyunjin and Seungmin go out all the time. They are out right now! Besides, it’s the middle of the day and I won’t go far.”_ _

__“Felix,” Chan warned._ _

__“Really, I won’t go far. Promise. I just want some time out of the house. It’s going to rain soon anyways.”_ _

__Chan sighed. “Fine. But don’t be out for long. Get back before the rain starts. I am serious.”_ _

__Felix was beaming as he jumped up from the couch and skipped over to the door. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” With that, he was gone._ _

__Jeongin couldn’t help but notice the way Changbin was staring at the door, biting his lip. He was wondering if there was something else he was missing here._ _

__The group stayed in the living room, talking, arguing, playing meaningless games. It had been a while and Felix still had not returned. Jeongin was about to ask about his absence when he heard the sudden crack of thunder and suddenly it was pouring rain. They all shared a look._ _

__Changbin stood from where he was sitting. “I’ll go and look for him.” No one had the chance to argue with him before he was out the door._ _

__“He didn’t even grab an umbrella,” Woojin muttered, shaking his head._ _

__“He really is smitten, isn’t he?” Minho said with a smile._ _

__Jeongin didn’t know what came over him, but he couldn’t just let an opportunity like this go. “You’re one to talk.”_ _

__Minho and Jisung both looked to him in alarm, immediately giving themselves away. Chan looked between them curiously. “Is there something I should know?”_ _

__“Jeongin, you traitor!” Jisung exclaimed. This only earned him a quizzical look from Woojin as well. “Alright, fine! Minho and I are dating.”_ _

__Jeongin screeched in surprise at the confession. Chan screamed “Since when?” at the same time Woojin exclaimed a “Finally!”_ _

__Likewise, Jisung responded with a “Hey!” while Minho replied, “Since last night.”_ _

__“Congratulations!” Chan said with a breathy laugh._ _

__“Shut up,” Minho said with a smile._ _

__It was at this moment that the front door flew open. Jeongin jumped up and screamed, startled. He expected to see Changbin or Felix, hopefully both, but, instead, he was met with the sight of a completely soaked Seungmin and Hyunjin. They were both breathing heavily as if they had run the entire way there._ _

__“Where is Felix?”_ _

__

_*Felix*_

__At first, Felix was delighted to be outside. He had missed being outside. He spent so much time in that hospital that he wanted to be able to spend time outdoors now that he was free. He had been feeling so much better recently and a quick little walk seemed like a lovely way to celebrate. However, the second Felix stepped out onto the street he was overcome with a terrible, yet familiar sensation._ _

__Felix felt as if his breath had been snatched from his lungs and a terrifying fear rooted itself deep within him. Suddenly, all at once, his anxiety was back. He was terrified. He could feel the panic attack coming on and he was ready to run back into the house and hide when the feeling suddenly disappeared. Just as quickly as the anxiety had arisen, it was gone. Felix was breathing heavily. Trying to steady himself. It could not have been more than a few seconds and he had just been through a range of emotions._ _

__Felix shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He looked up to the sky, letting the wind chill his skin as it blew through the October air. The storm clouds loomed overhead, both comforting the threatening. He didn’t have long._ _

__

__

_*Changbin*_

__When Changbin walked out of the house, Felix was nowhere in sight. He tried not to panic immediately. He probably just wandered too far and got caught in the rain. However, Changbin had no idea where to look for him, so he simply started walking._ _

__Felix’s strong scent usually made it very easy to find him, the the rain was making it difficult to smell anything. However, he supposed he had to be somewhat grateful to the clouds that were drenching him in raid because they were blocking the sun, making it much easier for him to move around during the day._ _

__Surprisingly, it didn’t take Changbin long to find Felix. He had made it down a couple of empty streets when he saw someone standing in the middle of one of the sidewalks, staring straight ahead at seemingly nothing._ _

__“Felix?” Changbin called out cautiously._ _

__The boy turned to face him with a bright smile. “Oh, Changbin!” The younger bounced over to him happily. “I didn’t expect to see you out here.”_ _

__Changbin was immediately wary. “Were you going to come back in? It’s raining pretty hard and you said you would be back before it started.”_ _

__“Oh,” Felix replied, as if he hadn’t even realized it was raining. “You’re right. I should be getting back, shouldn’t I?” Changbin nodded slowly. Something wasn’t right._ _

__Felix clung to Changbin’s arm the entire walk back to the house, smiling happily. It was only when they reached the house and Changbin began to walk towards the door that he realized Felix had stopped following him. He turned to see the other still standing on the street._ _

__“Aren’t you coming?” Changbin felt a terrible feeling settle in his stomach._ _

__Felix smiled back at him. “I can’t?”_ _

__Changbin walked towards him slowly. “Felix, what do you mean?” Felix shrugged, the smile never leaving his face. A sudden movement caught Changbin’s eyes and he looked to the side to see something that terrified him. “Felix come here right now!” Changbin was shaking. The feral vampire was slowly making its way towards Felix and the younger still wasn’t moving. “The feral!”_ _

__“Oh,” Felix began. “I know.”_ _

__Changbin froze. He couldn’t even make the word come out of his mouth: _what_? He heard the door behind him swing open violently, but didn’t have to turn around to know all of his friends were joining him outside. _ _

__“Felix!” Chan called in alarm._ _

__Jeongin screamed and pointed in the direction of the feral, making the others gasp and exclaim in equal alarm._ _

__“What is he doing?” Hyunjin cried._ _

__“That’s not Felix.” Seungmin’s voice was barely more than a breath and Changbin barely heard him. Barely, but he heard it._ _

__“What are you talking about?” Hyunjin questioned._ _

__Seungmin’s eyes were fixed steadily on Felix. “There is something in him. Something evil.”_ _

__“Seungmin, what are you talking about?” Jisung yelled in confusion._ _

__“I see ghosts. But this is different. There is something _in_ Felix. That isn’t him.”_ _

__Hyunjin shook his head. “No, there aren’t any ghosts around here that should be even close to powerful enough for possession. Unless . . .” Hyunjin’s eyes widened and he swore._ _

__“What? What is it?” Woojin questioned._ _

__“It’s been Felix this whole time. All of those dreams. I thought I could stop it by keeping everyone apart, but that was never going to stop it. Felix has been a conduit this whole time. It was always going to be him.”_ _

__“What are you talking about? Hyunjin what is wrong with him!?’ Changbin was scared and angry. The feral was now standing beside Felix, but it wasn’t attacking him._ _

__“We should have never woken up that forest,” was all that Hyunjin said by way of answer before everything turned to chaos._ _

__Felix’s happy smile turned into one that could only be described as evil, malicious. “Oh, stop being dramatic.” The voice that came out of him was chilling, demonic. This really wasn’t Felix. “You knew it was going to end like this, witch.” Felix lifted his hand and there was a terrible shattering sound._ _

__Before Changbin had time to process that that was the sound of the wards breaking, the feral was sprinting towards them, Felix finally making his way towards them as well._ _

__“Jeongin, fly!” Hyunjin screamed._ _

__Jeongin did as he was told, taking off into the air, out of reach. Felix was visibly upset at this, literally growling. He reached his hand up, but Hyunjin jumped in front of him. Without even touching him, Hyunjin was suddenly flying to the side, landing hard on the ground._ _

__“Hyunjin!” Seungmin cried, running over to the witch who was now motionless on the ground._ _

__Felix finally looked back to where Jeongin once was only to find him completely gone from sight. He swore. Felix’s gaze suddenly met Changbin’s. Changbin forgot how to move. He could hear screams behind him and he knew his other friends were trying to fight off the feral. He wondered how things had come to this, if this was how he was going to die._ _

__Felix was directly in front of him now. Changbin gulped. The face was that of a pretty boy he knew he loved, but he also knew that he was staring into the face of a demon. Felix smiled and brought a hand up, placing it under Changbin’s chin to keep their gazes locked. He clicked his tongue._ _

__“What a shame. He really liked you, you know that?” Changbin hated the words coming out of Felix’s mouth. It felt so wrong, so terrifying. “What a pity that he will be the one to kill you.” Changbin averted his gaze. “Hey, no.” Felix’s nails were digging into Changbin’s skin as he forced his gaze back. “Maybe I will give you a little longer than the rest.” Changbin heard a scream of pain sound from behind him and saw something go flying out of the corner of his eye. He hoped it wasn’t a person, but he had a sickening feeling that it was._ _

__“Felix . . .” Changbin whined hopelessly. He was a vampire, he was supposed to be stronger than this, but he wasn’t. Changbin was weak. He couldn’t hurt Felix. Not even to save his own life._ _

__Felix laughed a little. “Oh, you poor thing.” He laughed. “He’s gone. It’s just me now. But I guess I do have his body . . .” Felix trailed off, lowering his head to bury his face in Changbin’s neck. Changin hated it. He wanted so badly to make it stop, but he still found himself frozen. He felt cold lips press to his pale skin and he felt sick._ _

__“Stop . . .” he barely managed to mumble. “You’re not him.”_ _

__Felix pulled away. “Oh, but I know everything about him. What makes you think he doesn’t want to do this?” Felix leaned in and pressed a kiss to Changbin’s lips. Changbin swallowed hard and shook his head, refusing to meet Felix’s eyes again._ _

__“No,” Changbin whined pitifully. He could hear the sounds of fighting around him as this demon pressed a disgusting kiss to his jaw._ _

__“Shut up,” Felix whispered angrily._ _

__“Felix,” he pleaded. “Please . . . I’m sorry . . . I love you . . .” He was such a coward. Just letting these things happen. Thinking that there was still a chance that he could still get to Felix. He was so stupid. He should have never let him go outside to begin with. He started to cry._ _

__Felix finally pulled away, making Changbin thankful to be free of his touch. “Will you stop! I told you he is gone!” He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Why do I even bother. Don’t tell me you think this is like some fairytale. There is no bringing him back now. Your stupid love won’t do anything.”_ _

__Changbin’s tears ran down his face as he remained frozen in place. He wanted Felix back more than anything in the world and he hated this horrible demon standing in front of him. He heard a loud crack sound followed by a scream and he started crying harder. His friends were in danger, this thing wanted to kill them, and he was doing nothing._ _

__Felix brought his hand back up to Changbin’s face and Changbin felt himself flinch and turn away. Felix snarled. Changbin gasped as Felix was suddenly being thrown away from him. Changbin stumbled. It was almost as if the wind had hit him as nothing seemed to have touched him. Felix hit the fence bordering Hyunjin’s yard and Changbin could head the wood crack with the impact. He shouted in alarm; this might not be Felix, but that was certainly still his body._ _

__Changbin finally looked around. He could see that Hyunjin was now standing, leaning on Seungmin. He had his arm outstretched and Changbin realized that he must have been the one who saved him. He looked behind him to see Minho lying on the ground, unmoving, Woojin by his side. Chan and Jisung were trying to fight with the feral and Changbin couldn’t tell who was winning. Finally, his eyes fell on Felix, who was trying to pick himself up off of the ground. He felt sick._ _

__Changbin knew he shouldn’t, but he ran to Felix. Just seeing him broken, struggling like that, Changbin knew he couldn’t leave him. He rushed over and helped his friend to stand. Felix looked into his eyes, terrified._ _

__“Changbin?” His voice was trembling, but it was his own. Changbin sobbed and hugged Felix to him. “What’s going on?” The other asked shakily as he pulled away. “I’m scared.”_ _

__“It’s okay,” Changbin reassured him. “It’s going to be okay.”_ _

__“Changbin . . .” Felix drew closer to him, much closer. Changbin could feel his breath on his lips and he felt butterflies erupt in his stomach. Felix’s hands came up to his face, the touch featherlight. It took Changbin a moment to notice his hands moving from his face to his neck. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late._ _

__Changbin’s eyes widened as he clutched at the hands around his throat. He managed to make out Felix’s wicked smile through his teary vision. Felix laughed, but it wasn’t his voice._ _

__“Your’re _so stupid_. I don’t understand why he has such strong feelings for you in the first place.” Changbin wanted to sob, but all of his air was cut off. _ _

__Technically Changbin didn’t need to breathe, but Felix’s inhuman strength was doing more than stopping him from breathing. Felix lifted Changbin off of the ground and Changbin kicked his legs helplessly. Staring into the hatred clearly etched in the eyes of someone he loved, something in Changbin finally clicked._ _

__Changbin felt his body fade. He didn’t realize what was happening until he was standing beside Felix, completely free of his grasp. Mist. He had turned to mist. He remembered Minho and Jisung explaining vampire powers to him, but he didn’t even know this was possible. Felix turned to grab at him, but he quickly transformed again, reappearing on his other side. He knew that he should fight back, defend himself, but he couldn’t find it in himself to hurt Felix._ _

__Changbin saw something dark fly through the air and had to cover his ears when a shrill shriek sounded. Changbin looked over to see a dark figure lying impaled on top of the pointed fence. The feral. Felix whipped his head in the direction Changbin was looking and hissed in displeasure._ _

__“I have to do everything myself!”_ _

__Changbin watched in horror as Felix raised his hands. A strong wind picked up around them, picking up leaves from the ground and threatening to knock Changbin off of his feet._ _

__“No!” Hyujin screamed. It took Changbin a second to figure out why._ _

__Before Changbin even saw Jeongin return, he was on top of Felix, trying to wrestle him to the ground. Just like that, everyone was running for Felix. Though several of them were limping, they all managed to contain the freckled boy who thrashed about in protest._ _

__“Felix, stop!” Jeongin cried in distress._ _

__“Gone, gone, gone!” Felix was shouting, barely listening to them._ _

__“You’re wrong,” Seungmin said calmly. “You need to leave him alone.”_ _

__Felix stopped thrashing, fixing his gaze cooly on Seingmin. “What was that, ghost boy?”_ _

__“You’re nothing more than a parasite. You have been feeding off of Felix for a long time. He’s weak, but he’s not gone.”_ _

__Felix snarled. “And just what makes you think I’m leaving this body?”_ _

__“He can stop you,” Seungmin replied confidently._ _

__Felix snorted. “Yeah right. I almost killed his boyfriend and he didn’t do a thing. He doesn’t have the strength.”_ _

__“You’re wrong.” Changbin surprised at hearing his own voice. “Felix isn’t the weak boy you tried to make him. He had time away from you. Time to find himself. He is so much stronger than you.”_ _

__“Easy for you to say. You don’t even remember what I am.”_ _

__“That’s it!” Hyunjin exclaimed. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. A lighter. Changbin’s eyes widened._ _

__“You’re not going to _burn_ him?” Changbin asked incredulously. _ _

__Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “ _No_!” He pulled something else out of his pocket. This time, Changbin could not decipher what it was. He handed both items to Seungmin who looked at him confused. “Burn it.”_ _

__“Excuse me, what?” Seungmin didn’t understand what was going on any better than the rest of them._ _

__“I tried to burn it, get rid of it, ever since we found it, but it never did anything. I never realized it had to be you. You can _see_ what is in Felix, can’t you?”_ _

__Seungmin blinked rapidly. “Y-yes.”_ _

__“Then it has to be you. Burn it.”_ _

__Seungmin gulped. “Okay,” He flicked the flame to life and held it to the strange object._ _

__Felix screamed. “ _NO_!” His terrifying voice echoed and Changbin had to cover his ears. Seungmin let the object burn, dropping it as the flames enveloped it entirely. _ _

__Changbin had been unable to make himself help in restraining Felix so he watched from a distance as Felix’s body froze up before falling limp. His friends carefully lowered him to the ground. The object was gone, the flames fading into the damp grass._ _

__“What on earth did you just have me do?” Seungmin asked, horrified._ _

__“Is he okay?” Jeongin’s voice was quivering and he looked like he wanted to cry._ _

__Changbin finally remembered how his legs worked again and ran over to where Felix lie on the cold ground. He knelt beside him, staring down at his completely motionless body. He stared hard until he saw Felix’s chest rise and fall. He breathed a sigh of relief._ _

__“He’s just fine,” Hyunjin assured, finally making his way over with Seungmin by his side. “But I don’t know when he will wake up. It’s not everyday you get possessed by an evil forest spirit.”_ _

__“A what now?” Minho asked._ _

__Hyunjin shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s over now.”_ _

__Everyone took a moment to take in their surroundings. The rain had lightened to nothing more than a sprinkle and everything was eerily silent. The feral still lay on the fence, unmoving, presumably dead. Eight boys were gathered around a ninth, lying on the frigid, damp earth; one with wings, three with fangs._ _

__As Changbin gazed sadly at Felix’s peaceful expression, he could hear Jisung say, “How did no one see that!? We just fought a shadow monster, one of us _flew away_ , and we were all very nearly killed by a demon that possessed our friend. And no one even bothered to open their door? What kind of neighborhood is this?” If Changbin had been paying attention, he surely would have laughed at that, but he was distracted at the moment. _ _

__As Changbin reached out to brush Felix’s wet and matted hair away from his sleeping face he couldn’t help but to remember what had just happened. Felix had kissed him. But it wasn’t Felix. Changbin drew his hand back like he had been burned. Everything felt so wrong. He wondered if Felix would remember anything. He didn’t know if he wanted him to._ _

__“He’ll be okay,” Chan said softly, noticing the way Changbin was staring at Felix._ _

__Changbin looked up to him with a small, pained smile. “I know.”_ _

__“Let’s get Felix inside,” Woojin suggested loudly. Changbin helped Chan to lift him from the ground, touch careful and delicate._ _

__“What are we going to do about that?” Jeongin asked, pointing to the feral._ _

__No one seemed to have an answer for that._ _

__

__

_*Woojin*_

__Woojin remembered that dream. As the nine friends limped back into the safety of Hyunjin’s house, Woojin remembered. All that had just happened, he had known. He had seen it._ _

__Back when they were in school, he had had a dream. Jeongin flying away. Hyunjin on the ground, in pain. Felix hitting something with a sickening crack. A deep, evil voice. Woojin dreamt this. Woojin forgot it all. Until it was too late._ _

__

__

_*Jisung*_

__The following day, Jisung woke up early to grab a blood bag from the kitchen. He knew that they didn’t have that many and they had only just eaten, but he felt the impulsive need to eat his troubles away. He was actually awake in the morning for once and it felt wrong. He made it to the kitchen only to find it already occupied._ _

__“If I wasn’t so tired, I would be really surprised right now,” he barely managed to mumble when he saw Hyunjin give Seungmin a quick kiss. It wasn’t much and if Jisung had come in no more than a few seconds later he probably would have missed it, but he was never the luckiest person. Both boys turned to look at Jisung in surprise._ _

__“What are you doing up so early?” Hyunjin questioned, eyes wide._ _

__“Want food,” Jisung managed to slur. He was barely seeing straight and really needed this blood to help wake him up because he couldn’t manage to go back to sleep even with how tired he was._ _

__“I thought the blood was for emergencies,” Seungmin reminded him and Jisung was displeased. Yes, he knew. It was his rule. He didn’t care._ _

__“‘I thought the blood was for emergencies,’” he mimicked sleepily. Seungmin looked offended._ _

__That was when Minho decided to stroll into the room. All eyes followed him as he ignored everyone, walking directly to the fridge and swinging to door open. He removed a blood bag before turning to meet their gazes._ _

__“What?” Minho challenged._ _

__Hyunjin groaned. “For goodness sake! You can’t both stress eat all of your food supply.”_ _

__“Stop me,” Minho dared before sinking his teeth into the plastic. The blood seeped out messily, some dripping to the floor. Seungmin crinkled his nose in disgust and Hyunjin pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Jisung, on the other hand, was just overcome with the urge to kiss the life out of his boyfriend._ _

__“Minho, you look so—” Jisung didn’t get to finish his sentence._ _

__“Watch your words around the kid!” Chan shouted and Jisung spun around, surprised to see Chan, Woojin, and Jeongin walk into the kitchen. What was everyone doing up so early?_ _

__“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Jisung complained. Chan fixed him with a look and he caved, groaning._ _

__Minho gave him a devilish smirk and raised the blood bag in the air. “Want some?” Jisung had a feeling that phrase meant more than he was letting on._ _

__Once again, Jisung was not given the chance to speak as Woojin suddenly interrupted the conversation. “Excuse me, what is he doing eating that right now?”_ _

__“He and Jisung came in here to eat their worries away,” Hyunjin explained in exasperation._ _

__“Well stop it!” Chan ordered. “We don’t have blood drives in this town every day and we don’t need you two to start stealing from the hospital.”_ _

__“Listen,” Minho replied. “You're not the one who was thrown through the air last night. I swear I would have broken my spine if I didn’t have any vampiric strength in me. I deserve this.” No one could really argue with that. Minho turned to Jisung to beckon him over. “Jisung, come here. You deserve some of this after yesterday too.”_ _

__Jisung wasn’t about to argue with that. That’s what he came in here for after all. The others were ignoring them now, Chan moving to grab something out of the fridge for breakfast. Jisung walked over and tried to take the blood bag from Minho only for the other to pull it out of his reach. He met Minho’s gaze, annoyed and confused._ _

__“Don’t make me get another bag,” Jisung said with a frown._ _

__“Nonsense,” Minho replied with a smirk. “I said I would share.” With that, he sunk his teeth back into the bag, sucking out more of the blood._ _

__Jisung opened his mouth to protest, but he froze when Minho removed his mouth. Jisung’s eyes landed on Minho’s lips, which were covered in blood. A thin line trailed down his chin and he made no move to wipe it up. Instead, he tapped a finger to his lips expectantly. Jisung turned red._ _

__“Minho!” Jisung gasped, alarmed and embarrassed. Minho fixed him with a look that said, _look, do you want it or not_? And Jisung did, in fact, want it. He realized that he probably could have just taken the blood from his Minho’s hand, but who was he to turn down a kiss like this?_ _

__Jisung decided to disregard the people around them and leaned in to connect his lips to Minho’s. The second his lips met blood he left his tongue dark out to taste it. Being a vampire was kind of gross if he thought about it too much, but he really didn’t want to think about it at the moment. Just as they started to deepen the kiss Chan shouted once again, separating them._ _

__“What did I say about there being a child here!” Chan warned._ _

__“I’m not a kid,” Jeongin complained._ _

__“No more of that around the rest of us then,” Chan corrected. “That is something I don’t need to see right when I wake up. Especially after I actually manage to sleep through the entire night for once.”_ _

__Minho clicked his tongue in annoyance and Jisung finally just snatched the blood bag from him, taking a long sip. “That applies to more than just us,” Jisung finally replied after he had his fill of blood for the morning._ _

__“Excuse me, we know better,” Chan challenged._ _

__“I’m not talking about you,” Jisung said, eyeing Hyunjin and Seungmin where they were standing awfully close together by the counter._ _

__“You too?” Jeongin asked in surprise. “Is everyone in this house getting together?” Jisung and the other looked to him in alarm. It took him a second to realize why. “Not me!” he exclaimed. “But it really does seem to be everyone except for me.” Jisung couldn't help his mind from wandering to Changbin and Felix. It was beyond clear the two had feelings for each other, but things weren’t exactly going their way. It soon became clear by the silence that Jisung wasn’t the only one thinking of them._ _

__“Do you think Felix will wake up soon?” Jeongin asked softly._ _

__“I hope so.” Hyunjin’s voice was little more than a whisper._ _

__Felix had been asleep since the demon apparently left him. Jisung knew it wasn’t technically a demon, but he thought that was more fitting than what it actually was. Hyunjin did his best to explain to them how they had woken an evil spirit in the forest when they were in high school. He told them about how he had been the one to wipe their memories. Woojin had dreamt of terrible things happening to them and Hyunjin had done enough research to have a pretty good idea of what it meant. Since they were the ones who woke it, all that demon had to do to be completely free and do whatever it pleased with is powers was kill all of them. Apparently, though, it was difficult to track them down individually when they weren’t around each other. Something about their energy together is what set it off. Jisung had been furious with Hyunjin for taking their memories, but he supposed it really had saved them._ _

__Hyunjin also told them that it should be safe to leave now that they had dealt with the spirit. There would still be some lingering spirits due to Samhain that they would be able to see now that they were aware they existed, but none of them were really dangerous. However, they all agreed that no one was going anywhere until Felix woke up._ _

__When they brought Felix inside, they made a collective effort to change him into dry clothes before tucking him into his bed. He hadn’t shown any signs of waking anytime soon, despite what Hyunjin said. They were all extremely worried, but it was Changbin that seemed the most distraught. He hadn’t left Felix’s side since they put him in bed. Jisung doubted he slept._ _

__As for the feral, they dragged its body to Hyunjin’s back yard and buried it. Jisung supposed that, at some point, that had been a person. It had long since turned into nothing more than a monster, but the thought was still eerie. The spot where they buried the body was fairly visible, but they all figured that, if no one was going to question them fighting the thing to begin with, no one was going to care enough to question this._ _

__

__

_*Felix*_

__Felix woke up gasping. His heart was racing and he was terrified. He felt himself clutching at blankets as he tried to take in his surroundings. Was this his room? He couldn’t tell._ _

__“Felix.” He heard someone calling his name, but they sounded like they were underwater. He didn’t know what was happening, what had happened. Everything felt overwhelmingly hopeless. He was hyperventilating._ _

__“Felix!”_ _

__Felix knew he was having a panic attack, but that did nothing to stop it. Everything else had disappeared and he was drowning in this anxiety, this fear._ _

__“Felix!” He felt hands on his skin, pulling him back to reality. “Felix, it’s okay! You’re safe!” Felix tried to calm his breathing, taking deep breaths. He was shaking. He felt his pulse slowing back to normal. He turned to look at the person holding his hand. Changbin. “You’re okay. I’m here.” The room finally came into focus. Changbin had pulled up a chair and was sitting right beside his bed. This really was his room. He really was okay._ _

__Felix looked directly into Changbin’s eyes before throwing his arms around him. “Thank you,” he whispered, breathless. “Thank you.” Changbin squeezed him back before pulling away._ _

__“Are you okay now?” Felix nodded. “Do you . . . do you remember what happened?”_ _

__Felix frowned for a moment, trying to think back. The second he tried, he felt the fear wash over him again. He shivered, scared, but he knew he needed to remember. When it all finally came rushing back to him he couldn’t help the sob that escaped him._ _

__“Is everyone okay?” he asked in a panic, trying to get out of bed, flinching at a pain in his back. Changbin stopped him. “Oh, what have I done?” Felix felt guilty and hopeless. He had caused this. He could see his friends getting hurt because of him. He had tried to kill them._ _

__“They’re fine. Just a little roughed up,” Changbin reassured. “It’s you that I’m worried about. You have been asleep for the last thirty-six hours. I was beginning to fear that you weren’t going to wake up.”_ _

__Felix shook his head. “Why would you worry for me after what I did?”_ _

__“Lix, that wasn’t you. We all know that.”_ _

__Felix felt tears prickling at his eyes. “Hyunjin . . . I hurt him.” Felix looked away. “And the others. The feral. They could have _died_. They were supposed to. I was trying to kill you all!” Felix sobbed in despair. He finally turned back to look Changbin dead in the eyes. “And you . . . I hurt you. I hurt you so bad. How could any of you forgive me?”_ _

__“Felix . . .”_ _

__“It’s all because I wanted to go out on a stupid walk. It’s my fault. I didn’t want any of this.”_ _

__“Felix, none of this is your fault. We are all just happy that you are okay.”_ _

__Felix gulped. “What if it isn’t gone?” His words hung in the air and he could tell they scared Changbin just as much as they scared him._ _

__“It is,” Changbin promised. “And even if it isn’t, I’ll always be with you. I won’t let it get to you again.”_ _

__Felix felt his heart beat racing. “Changbin . . .” he whispered. He reached a hand out to the other only for Changbin to flinch away. It hurt more than Felix wanted it to. “See?” He sobbed, drawing back into himself. “You’re scared of me! Of what I did to you. I can _never_ make up for that.” Felix let the tears fall before scrubbing at his cheeks to wipe them away. He had made Changbin cry. He had _tortured_ him. He just wanted everything to go away._ _

__“Felix no, I’m sorry. Please,” Changbin begged. “I didn’t mean to. I _know_ that that wasn’t you. I was just scared . . .” Felix looked up from to meet Changbin’s eyes. He was blurry through the tears. Changbin’s eyebrows were knit together and he looked on the verge of tears himself. “If you remember everything, you remember what I said to you. And I meant it.” Changbin reached out to take Felix’s hands in his own. Felix sniffed and tried to calm himself down, but it was difficult. He felt overrun with emotions and he was getting his hopes up. “I love you, Felix. I think I have for a long time. When I thought I had lost you . . . it was the wort moment of my life. But now you are here and you are okay. You don’t have to feel the same way, but I just wanted you to know. Because even if you don’t, I will always be here for you.” _ _

__Felix let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “Changbin . . .” He tried to smile, but he felt his mouth keep turning downwards. He was fighting tears again, this time, for a different reason._ _

__Changbin frowned and let his hands go. “I’m sorry. That’s probably not what you needed to hear right after waking up. I probably just made you feel worse. I’ll leave you alone for now.” Changbin made a move to leave and Felix panicked. He reached out to grab Changbin’s wrists, effectively stopping the other and making him turn back to Felix._ _

__“Stay,” Felix begged softly. Changbin settled once again and looked at Felix nervously. “You’re dumb.”_ _

__“Hey! I just poured my heart out for you, what do you mean I’m dumb!?”_ _

__Felix smiled and sniffled. “How could you ever think I wouldn’t feel the same way.”_ _

__Changbin took a moment to process that and Felix fought the urge to giggle. “Wait, you mean.” Felix looked away shyly before meeting Changbin’s eyes. He smiled shyly and nodded. “Then . . .” Changing began, face red. “Can I . . .?” Changbin’s eyes flicked down to Felix’s lips Felix nodded again._ _

__Changbin reached out a hand and placed it on Felix’s face. Felix leaned into the touch. They both leaned in slowly, unsure, careful. They were centimeters apart and Felix’s eyes fluttered closed. He felt Changbin’s soft lips on his own, the touch featherlight. Felix couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. The kiss was short and they two pulled away only enough to look into each other’s eyes.Felix knew he was smiling stupidly, but he couldn’t stop. He didn’t think he had ever been this happy before. Changbin leaned back in and reconnected their lips and Felix hummed happily at the contact, reaching out to put a hand on Changbin’s shoulder._ _

__They kissed over and over, soft, sweet, Felix smiling into every one. Felix was in love with this. With the light touches. The kisses so full of love. Having Changbin right there with him. Not being alone. Even if he knew this wasn’t really his house, he felt like he was finally home._ _

__

__When Changbin and Felix walked into the living room, there was screaming, and crying, and hugging. It had been a long time since Felix had felt this loved. His friends were obnoxious and they were smothering, but he didn’t know how he ever lived without them._ _

__

__

_*Hyunjin*_

__“I win!” Jeongin shouted, jumping up from the couch bouncing around happily._ _

__“Why are you so good at this game?” Jisung complained loudly. “This is the fifth time in a row!”_ _

__“Yeah! I request a game change!” Felix shouted._ _

__“That’s only because you keep losing,” Jeongin accused._ _

__“Well, yeah!” Felix replied._ _

__“I agree,” Hyunjin interjected. “Let’s change games before someone flips the table again. I might be a witch, but that took be a long time to clean up last week.” He looked pointedly at Jisung._ _

__“I regret nothing,” Jisung said, arms folded._ _

__“I’m going for more to eat,” Minho announced. “You still keep blood in your fridge, right?”_ _

__“Yes,” Seungmin replied, already getting up to search for a new game to play. “Please take Jisung with you. He’s hurting my ears.” Jisung glared at him and Seungmin laughed._ _

__“I see enough of him at home, you can deal with him for now,” Minho retorted, leaving for the fridge._ _

__“Oh, by the way, can we stay here tonight?” Changbin asked Hyunjin. “The air conditioning in our house went out and it’s like a hundred degrees outside.”_ _

__Hyunjin sighed, taking the game Seungmin was handing him. “I guess so, but don’t forget that knock again. I am not flying to another country to pick you and Felix up ever again.”_ _

__“It was one time!” Felix complained._ _

__Hyunjin had kept the doors to the spare room in his house after his friends had all moved back into their own homes, but he still kind of needed the storage space they were taking up. To solve this problem, he made it so that the doors opened to his actual storage closets unless someone knocked on the door in a certain way. Because the rooms are actually places all around the world, Felix and Changbin had gotten stuck when they knocked the wrong combination._ _

__“New game!” Hyunjin announced to let Minho know he was out of time. Seungmin settled back into his place beside Hyunjin and Hyunjin leaned over to give him a light peck on the lips._ _

__Seungmin had moved in with Hyunjin after the whole incident in October. Hyunjin still had to make him something to help with his manic depressive disorder, but he seemed to be doing much better with the protection of Hyunjin’s wards. There were moments when Seungmin would still slip into moments of hyper action or depression, but Hyunjin was always there to comfort him._ _

__They only managed to get through one round of the new game before Jeongin was yawning. The youngest turned to Chan and Woojin._ _

__“Time to go home?”_ _

__Chan gave him a look. “Just because you have started to lose doesn’t mean you get to quit.”_ _

__Woojin laughed. “It is getting pretty late. And you need to keep up with your sleep schedule. Especially with that full moon approaching.”_ _

__Chan groaned and turned to the group. “He’s right. We should probably go.”_ _

__“We’ll head out too,” Minho added, standing up and dragging Jisung into a standing position as well. “Lucky probably misses us.”_ _

__“And we can head up to our room,” Changbin offered._ _

__“Oh no you don’t,” Hyunjin challenged. “If you to are staying here, you are helping us clean up first.” Felix and Changbin groaned._ _

__As the rest of their friend made their way to the door, they all turned and waved. “See you next week?” Chan asked, but they all knew the question was unnecessary._ _

__“See you next week,” Hyunjin said with a smile._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed! I definitely wrote this in a way that left ample room for a good prequel, so let me know if you would be interested in that. Also pretty please forgive spelling mistakes. I just spell checked this myself and I always miss a lot. I'll try to fix things as I find them.  
> Thank you ^^


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